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NARRATIVE 


OF 


THE MUTINIES IN OUDE. 


COMPILED FROM AUTHENTIC RECORDS, 


BY 

CAPTAIN (}. HUTCHINSON, 

v 0 

BENGAL ENGINEERS, 

MILITARY SECRETARY TO THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER, OUDE. 


PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY. 


LONDON: 

SMITH, ELDER & CO., 65, CORNHILL. 


3I.DCCC.LIX. 



































« 










































PREFACE. 


This Narrative has been compiled with the concur¬ 
rence of the Government of India, and by the 
direction of R. Montgomery, Esq., C.S., Chief Com¬ 
missioner of Oude, with the object of affording to 
all who may have lost friends or relations in Oude 
the most accurate and complete information that the 
Local Government has been able to collect. 

The utmost care and research have been taken to 
draw from all sources any information tending to 
throw light on the deeds and sufferings of our coun¬ 
trymen and women during that eventful period. 

Narrators have, as much as possible, been left to 
tell their own story in their own words, a few neces¬ 
sary links only being supplied here and there as they 
appeared necessary. 

The following officers have supplied valuable in¬ 
formation :— 

C. Wingfield, Esq., C. S., late Commissioner, Baraitcli 
Division, Oude. 

Major Carnegie, late City Magistrate, Lucknow. 

Captain Reid, late Deputy Commissioner, Fyzabad. 

Major Barrow, late Deputy Commissioner, Selone. 



IV 


PREFACE. 


S. Martin, Esq., C. S., late Deputy Commissioner, Lucknow. 
Captain Alexander Orr, late Assist. Commissioner, Fyzabad. 
Captain Adolphus Orr, late Oude Police. 

Captain Bunbury, late Oude Police. 

Captain John Hearsey, late Oude Police. 

Lieut. Meecham, late 7th Oude Irregular Infantry. 

Lieut. E. E. Clark, late Assistant Commissioner, Gonda. 

Mr. E. Bickers, late Setapore Commissioner’s Office. 

Mr. E. Phillips, late Setapore Deputy Commissioner’s Office. 
Mr. E. Dudman, late Setapore Deputy Commissioner’s Office. 
Mr. Durand, late Mulaon Deputy Commissioner’s Office. 

Mr. D. Gruyther, late Derriabad Commissioner’s Office. 

G. Hutchinson, Captain, 

Military Secretary to the Chief Commissioner , Oude. 


Lucknow, 1a£ May , 1857. 





Cava lry-L ines 

\U2 


Bridge/ 

™ Ttiissmih 

Ghat ■ 


AiuUah tdrelnble 
only at Points. 


IBiSMai 3HWI* 

showuia relative/ position/ of 

MR CHRISTIAN, THE COMMISSIONER,AND THE LOCAL 
OFIM TROOPS PRIOR TO THE 
MUTINY, 


References. 

The. Commissioner 

A. JUT Christians House*. 

B. W. Thornhills Bouse 
the Deputy ram 7 

C. AsstP Commissioner Sir 
Mot m l Stuart Jarkson , 
atul the Miss Jacksons. 

D . Crept, cmd JI-' Snell. 

E. JjieuOP Lester 

JLsstt tbtnmV. 


.1 u n g 1 e 





















































NARRATIVE 

OP 

EVENTS IN OUDE, 

IN CONNECTION WITH 

THE MUTINY OF 1857. 


That a correct appreciation may be formed of the 
effect of the mutiny in Oude, it is necessary to con¬ 
sider its state before that infectious scourge swept 
over it. 

The dynasty of Oude was founded in 1711, by 
Nawab Mahomed Ameen, better known as Saadut 
Khan Boorhan-ool Moolk. 

Succeeding governors were styled nawabs from 
1739 to 1819, and kings from 1819 to 6th February 
1856. 

Ghazeeooddeen Hyder, the ruler of Oude in 1819, 
received in that year, from the British Government, 
the title of king. 


1 



2 


NARRATIVE OF 


From the first establishment of a governor, 
the system of government has been nearly the 
same. 

The governor, as supreme, had his court of justice 
apparently open to all appellants, rich or poor, whilst 
the vizeer, or prime minister, held a similar subordi¬ 
nate court. 

The punishment of death could only be passed by 
the governor, and if the subject was a Mahomedan, 
the concurrence of the Mahomedan high priest was 
necessary. 

The city governor or kotwal held a court for 
minor cases occurring in the capital (Lucknow), and 
the residents of each district received their meed of 
justice from the hands of that individual to whom the 
revenues of the district were farmed; these men 
were styled chuckladars, and their power of oppres¬ 
sion was, in reality, unlimited. 

From the above it will be seen that the only ap¬ 
peal against the oppression of a chuckladar, alias 
district governor, was to the vizeer or to the king, 
and the difficulties attendant on that appeal may be 
well conceived by any one who is at all acquainted 
with the Asiatic character, or who considers that 
these chuckladars took the contracts of their districts 
year by year, and necessarily, being the bond fide 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


3 


creatures of the minister, or of any individual who at 
that time swayed the king, always had a friend at 
court ready so to crush or stifle the voice of complaint, 
that but a suffocated whisper, if even that, could ever 
reach the king’s presence. 

Such were the principal apparent upholders of jus¬ 
tice in Oude: the king, the vizeer, the city magis¬ 
trate, and the chuckladars; and it will be necessary 
to narrate how they carried on their various duties, 
for the right conception of the state of Oude at the 
annexation. 

The king, Wajid Ally Shah, occupant of the throne 
of Oude, ascended the throne on the death of his 
father, Umjud Ally Shah, and at first made some 
effort to transact business. Yery soon he acquiesced 
in the joint suggestion of his minister and creatures, 
that such work, such inquiry, such laborious perusal 
of documents, was as unnecessary as it was unsuited 
to the light of the universe; but that cases might be 
heard within the presence, and his majesty could 
order the seal of State to be appended to the decisions 
of infinite wisdom. 

Too soon this last act dropped into disuse, and the 
seal of State was made over to the minister together 
with the wisdom it would confirm, and thus the king 
virtually ceased either to administer justice himself 

1—2 


4 


NARRATIVE OF 


to his people or even to witness its administration in 
his presence. 

It must not be supposed that the influence of the 
king, for good or evil, ceased with his withdrawal 
from public administration; on the contrary, for the 
latter it increased tenfold. 

Applicants who yet sought justice from their far 
too honoured king had to wade through a sea of 
bribery, thick with the filthy avariciousness of eu¬ 
nuchs, fiddlers, dancing girls, prostitutes, and other 
equally low characters, too numerous to detail. In 
addition to these creatures around him, the king had 
four wives by marriage according to Mahomedan law, 
and twenty-nine acknowledged wives by “ Motah,” 
and four hundred female attendants called “ Motah ” 
wives, but not permanently united as the others. 

This “ Motah ” was a ceremony invented for con¬ 
venience, and was as binding as a lawful marriage 
for the period it embraced; namely, three hours, or 
three days, or three months, or three years. At the 
expiration of the Motah agreement either party was 
free to marry whom they fancied. 

The power of the king thus surrounded was exer¬ 
cised first by the favourite begum or wife, and 
secondly, by the favourite attendants from amongst 
the motley crowds. Before these the minister bowed 


EVENTS IN OXIDE. 


5 


in helpless resignation* and failed not to remember 
that a chuckladar’s contract must include the favourite 
begum’s proper douceur. So completely was this 
matter of fact that chuckladars often could not get 
their contracts until the begum’s douceur was paid in 
full or part. 

It will be seen from the above how completely the 
king sought only his own pleasure* to the utter neg¬ 
lect of his people, and that that good-nature* love of 
ease, and abandonment to pleasure*—which even in 
lesser individuals is but falsely styled harmless*— 
became in the king a crime which* rendering all 
things venal, drew alike from justice and prostitution 
the means of gratifying himself and those around 
him. 

As we descend in the scale of government* we find 
a prime minister; a financial minister; a paymaster- 
general ; an assistant to the prime minister; a meer 
moonshee, who carried on the correspondence be¬ 
tween the king and the British government; a super¬ 
intendent of the dewan of the king; a superintendent 
of the dewan of the vizeer; a treasurer in charge of 
the crown jewels and private moneys of the king; a 
treasurer in charge of government treasury; a super¬ 
intendent of city police; a kotwal, or magistrate of 
the city; a superintendent of magazines and com- 


6 


NARRATIVE OF 


missariat; three principal physicians; a poet and 
aide-de-camp; a superintendent of city news; and a 
superintendent of district news. Such were the prin¬ 
cipal individuals permanently attached to the court, 
with many others of minor importance. 

At the period of annexation Allee Nuckee Khan 
was prime minister on a salary of ten thousand rupees 
a month; Maharajah Balkishen was financier on five 
thousand; all others had salaries, no doubt meant to 
be nominal, the perquisites providing the ways and 
means for those splendid displays of elephants, horses, 
&c., in which the court attendants loved to indulge. 
The average salary of all, from the paymaster-general 
to the poet, did not actually exceed three hundred 
rupees a month, their expenses being more like three 
thousand. 

The minister was not a man whose character was 
esteemed, and in his light the financial minister. 
Maharajah Balkishen, showed to advantage, particu¬ 
larly in his later years. 

The wife of the prime minister entirely ruled him, 
and as the king had deputed all business to him, so 
he deputed all he possibly could, nominally, to his 
darogah, but virtually to Moonshee Mahomed Hoos- 
sain, who naturally, in concert with the prime minis¬ 
ter’s wife, held very great power. He entirely 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


7 


superseded the court of Dewan Aum, or the court to 
which cases of appeal to, and orders from, the king 
were nominally sent. 

Maharajah Balkishen was of the kaeth, or writer 
caste. He was probably the least corrupt of all the 
durbar officials. He was a good man of business, 
labouring incessantly. His memory was remarkable. 
The regular salary of the maharajah was five thou¬ 
sand rupees per mensem, but his perquisites (allowed 
and fixed by the late king, Umjud Ally Shah) were 
very large. His nuzzeranah, or presents, from all 
districts amounted to six lacs of rupees per annum; 
on this enormous sum the king levied ten annas per 
rupee, leaving the maharajah a net sum of rupees two 
lacs and twenty-five thousand. It may be interesting 
to note here that the maharajah died shortly before 
the final capture of Lucknow; he had been forced to 
serve as a financial minister under the rebel durbar, 
but old age and timidity soon unfitted him for office, 
and hastened his death. 

The kotwal, or city magistrate, was one Ally 
Reiza Beg, son of the late Museeta Beg, a famous 
kotwal of Lucknow. 

Ally Reiza Beg was made extra assistant commis¬ 
sioner in Oude on annexation. During the siege of 
the Residency he wrote a petition to Sir James 


8 


NARRATIVE OF 


Outram, G.C.B., in which he stated that he was 
nominated by the rebels to be kotwal of the city, and 
was obliged to accept it. The appointment is a very 
lucrative one. 

Rajah Dhunput Rae, son of Rajah Oolputt Rae, was 
the paymaster-general, enjoying a salary of one hun¬ 
dred and fifty rupees a month. The state of this pay 
office may be conceived when the fact is appreciated 
that the accounts of this office had never once been 
settled since the Oude dynasty was established. 
Owing to the extensive and intricate nature of the 
frauds prevailing all through the department, the 
“pay office” had become a proverb, and the expres¬ 
sion “ Is it the pay office, that it cannot be settled ? ” 
was commonly used as the ultima Thule short of which 
all things were possible. No Asiatic Hercules arose 
to cleanse this Augean stable; and as a dernier ressort, 
the office was actually given out on contract; after 
this, the attempts of regiments and officials to realize 
anyhow the pay due to them, may almost be par¬ 
doned, and at the same time it ceases to be a matter 
of surprise that subordinates thus cheated by their 
superiors out of probably two-thirds of their salary 
should still cling fondly to the government which 
cheated them, when we remember how very gene¬ 
rally those cheated officials repaid themselves by 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


9 


extortions double and treble the amount defrauded 
from them, and therefore naturally hugged the 
system which provided a plea for extortion to those 
who had consciences, and opened a wide field of 
enterprise to the clever and avaricious who had 
none. 

One more character in the Oude administration 
must be noticed, namely, the assistant to the minister. 
This assistant, a Mahomedan convert from Hin- 
dooism, was styled in Oude Shurfoodowlah Gholam 
Ruza, but was better known by the somewhat homely 
one of Juggurnauth Bunnea. Gholam Ruza was the 
name given on conversion; “ Shurfoodowlah ” was 
the title given to him subsequently by the king, 
Umjud Ally Shah, when he deprived his minister, 
Shurfoodowlah, of office. The title was given to the 
Bunnea to add to the disgrace of the former minister. 
He had great influence over the new' minister, and, 
by his unceasing diligence, combined with great 
natural talent, though he could neither read nor 
write Persian, contrived to unite in himself a very 
numerous string of offices, amongst which the fol¬ 
lowing were not the least profitable:—The hozoor 
tuhseel, or office into which more especially direct 
revenue payments were made by those who held that 
privilege; the payment of all begums and wives 


10 


NARRATIVE OF 


of sorts; the supplying all khilluts, or presents, 
ordered by the king for presentation; the contract of 
all city bazaars, town duties, prostitutes, and public 
buildings. 

It may be conceived that there was no feasting in 
the house of Juggurnauth Bunnea on the day of 
annexation; but with the amiable versatility of his 
class he at once obeyed his king’s behests, deter¬ 
minedly refrained from offering armed opposition to 
the new government, and tendered his submission. 
In due time, probably only for the sake of his family, 
he sought and obtained, under the British rule, ex¬ 
tensive city contracts, which, however, but faintly 
resembled the former comfortable annuities. 

Having passed down the lists of influential men 
around the king, forming, if we may so denominate 
the heterogeneous mass, his government in the capital, 
there remains, to complete this slight review of the 
Oude government, the consideration of the system of 
government in the provinces, which, radiating from 
such a centre, bore many of its most striking charac¬ 
teristics. 

Oude was divided into twenty-two chuckladarrees, 
or districts, including nizamuts, chuckladarree, hozoor 
tuhseel, the revenues of which were given out on 
contract, and the contractors for which were styled 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


11 


chuckladars. A nazim was superior to a chuckladar, 
and was entitled to a salute of from seven to eleven 
guns whilst marching; latterly, as the fair sex 
exerted its influence, one of these chuckladarships 
was held by a female under the title of chuckla- 
darnee, or darogah of the “chucklah,” the place 
where prostitutes congregate: her name was Hydree, 
a prostitute; she held the contract of the revenue on 
prostitution in the city of Lucknow; it amounted to 
fifty thousand rupees per annum. 

Chuckladars were of two kinds: 1st. The lakala- 
mee chuckladar, or one that was under obligation to 
pay a fixed sum per annum; he received no pay or 
salary. 2nd. The amanee chuckladar, or one that 
paid into the treasury whatever he could collect; he 
received a fixed salary. 

A chuckladar could inflict any punishment short 
of taking life; but, as all his sentences of imprison¬ 
ment were carried out at Lucknow, it was no common 
occurrence for a prisoner sent in, under sentence of 
imprisonment for life, by some chuckladar, to be at 
large within a short period, and entering on a new 
career, which, by the peculiar nature of Asiatic 
advancement, might end ere long in the life prisoner 
being a rival chuckladar. 

It is necessary to understand clearly the important 


12 


NARRATIVE OF 


position of these farmers of the revenue, who held 
almost uncontrolled sway over the great mass of 
the people beyond the confines of the capital itself. 
They scattered over their districts subordinate agents, 
corresponding to our tuhseeldars and thanadars, giv¬ 
ing them each a small body guard from the class 
of mercenary soldiers called nujjeebs. When these 
subordinate collectors were unable to extort the often 
exorbitant sum demanded as revenue, the chuckladar 
called in and received the aid of the king’s troops to 
coerce the unfortunate victims. 

This arrangement had, however, its own little diffi¬ 
culties and drawbacks, for it was necessary to reward 
those king’s troops for doing their duty, though nomi¬ 
nally they were at the cliuckladar’s disposal to use as 
he pleased. 

At all times it was the custom for the chuckladars 
to pay all officers of regiments exactly the same sum 
as that which they were supposed and did sometimes 
receive monthly from the king’s treasury; this appa¬ 
rently doubled their pay, though it was probably the 
only stipend they received regularly. The troops 
also came in for their share of consideration from 
the chuckladar. 

It sometimes happened that regiments ten months 
in arrears, and out on district duty with chuckla- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


13 


dars, mutinied, and put their own officers into con¬ 
finement until the government awoke to the neces¬ 
sity of paying them. An order for payment on the 
chuckladar of the district they were in generally 
followed this move; and as it was not improbable 
that at the same time the zemindars had forgot to 
pay up all the revenue demand on them, and the 
chuckladar forgot to remit to Lucknow any amount 
those zemindars possibly had remembered and paid, 
this sudden order for payment on the chuckladars 
was extremely awkward. 

From these irregularities it must not be imagined 
that any of the parties concerned had the slightest 
desire to be relieved; all were alike fascinated by 
the arrangement being delightfully uncertain. The 
chuckladar and sepoy were content in the chance of 
extortion, and the zemindar with evading the just 
demand on himself by some less fortunate victim 
having to pay double. 

A curious system, however, arose from this state 
of affairs, called the “ Jcubz.” The commanding 
officer of the troops comes forward and stands 
security to the king for as much of the revenue as 
he can get entrusted to him to collect, often three or 
four times more than is required to pay his men all 
their arrears. It is a speculation into which the men 


14 


NARRATIVE OF 


heartily enter, always getting their officer to stand 
security for as large a sum as possible. The officer 
was entitled to five per cent, on all the money he 
collected, besides nuzzurs, or presents, he received 
on taking this contract, or kubz. 

His men were at once spread out in dustuks, or 
billeted wherever revenue was not paid up at once; 
for instance, a forgetful zemindar would have one or 
more sepoys billeted on him, to whom he must pay 
a daily sum, fixed according to his means, until he 
remembers to pay up the revenue in full to the com¬ 
manding officer. Half of this daily tax the sepoy 
considered the right of his officer, who had assumed 
the responsibility of the contract, and faithfully gave 
it up to him. 

By this arrangement the troops effectually secured 
to themselves their pay, and any slight additions 
they could pick up; the larger the sum to be col¬ 
lected, the more chances for all parties. Many native 
commanders succeeded in obtaining from victims 
absolutely unable to pay, probably from prior extor¬ 
tions of the chuckladar, bonds on the land, by which 
they were eventually able to eject the original land¬ 
holder and take possession. 

This kubz could be carried on in another mode, 
and was done so by the cavalry and artillery com- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


15 


mandants, wlio would themselves remain in Luck¬ 
now sending out on contract their men and guns for 
the collecting of revenue; the contractor went with 
the troops, and they took care he paid them out of 
the collections all arrears due to them; whilst the 
commandants, it may be presumed, did not find 
themselves forgotten. 

From the foregoing remarks it will be readily 
understood how justice in the land was at a discount, 
and what little justice a chuckladar, even if he 
desired it, could effect, when remission from punish¬ 
ments awarded by him could be readily purchased in 
Lucknow. The same perversion of justice extended 
through all the land interests, and the chuckladar 
could give mouwafie lands, or nankar, in perpetuity; 
this is the payment of a small yearly sum, which 
remains fixed for ever, and on payment of it, and 
no more, the land remains free of all demands. 

It is, I believe, giving but a correct idea of this 
system to say that a chuckladar was a speculator, 
whose sole object was to get as cheap a contract as 
he could, and repay himself by extortion from the 
people, carried to the utmost extent possible. But 
there is a limit even to extortion, and the annals of 
Oude furnish many episodes replete with tragedies, 
natural results of such a system. 


16 


NARRATIVE OF 


Allusion has been made to the army, which 
upheld this objectionable system, and its paternity, 
the government, but some further notice of it is 
desirable. 

The army was composed as follows: nineteen (19) 
regular regiments clothed and drilled according to 
European style; of these five were commanded by 
European officers in the king of Oude’s service: each 
regiment averaged 800 men; thirty-two irregular 
regiments, or nujjeebs, each regiment averaging 500 
men. 

Each of the regiments commanded by European 
officers had a battery attached to it of six (6) guns, 
thus:—one 8-inch mortar; one 8-inch howitzer; 
two 18-pounders; two 9-pounders. Probably the 
king had about 1,000 guns or more, besides these, of 
all sorts and sizes. 

Cavalry .—Irregular cavalry, nine regiments, each 
regiment averaging 450 men; one regiment in the 
uniform of our regular cavalry, numbering 300, 
and were without horses; two regiments of regular 
cavalry, composed of African troopers, and num¬ 
bering 400 to 600 each; four regiments of regular 
cavalry of about 400 each; and camel riders with the 
zumbooruck, or large gun, about 300. 

It was said that the king of Oude’s army, including 


EVENTS IN OXIDE. 


17 


all ranks and servants, classes, sweepers, bildars, 
bheestees, &c., amounted to 50,000 men. 

The principal duties of the army consisted in 
quelling internal disturbances, collecting revenue by 
aiding nazims, chuckladars, &c., in coercing refrac¬ 
tory zemindars, and in furnishing guards for the 
cities, towns, ferries, &c., of Oude. 

The pay was nominally five rupees per month to 
sepoys in regular regiments, and from three rupees 
eight annas to four rupees per month to those in 
the Nujjeeb irregular regiments. 

The regular cavalry troopers received nine rupees 
per month; the irregular troopers, who furnished 
their own horses and equipment, received nineteen 
rupees per month. Each horse in the irregular 
cavalry was stamped with a Persian letter, and a 
stamp tax of nominally five rupees per horse (in 
reality much more) was levied at Lucknow. 

The artillery, whether attached to regular regi¬ 
ments or otherwise, received seven rupees per month. 

The various nazims and chuckladars had numer¬ 
ous armed retainers, styled “ sebundees,” entertained 
generally for the Fusselee year, or season of cultiva¬ 
tion, from October to October. These men were em¬ 
ployed in thanahs, or police stations, and in assisting 
the regular troops in their several duties, especially 

2 


18 


NARRATIVE OF 


in collecting revenue. Sebundee is derived from 
sepah, soldier; Hindee , of India. 

It will be well now to notice the people and their 
chiefs on whom this government, this army, so 
heavily sat, and from whom they drew those vast 
sums of which, had but a fair share been spent on 
the country that supplied them, the province of Oude 
would have been second to none in agriculture and 
commerce. 

Her splendid soil always responded richly to the 
hasty and irregular labour of the often necessarily 
armed ploughman, and her command of river com¬ 
munication always insured markets for her produce. 

But it was far otherwise; the fruit of the peasant’s 
toil was sent to the capital, there to be lavishly 
squandered by a wanton king and his degraded 
associates. 

The result was that Lucknow, the capital, became 
the residence of an enormous class of parasites, who 
were fed by such a system, and whose powers of re¬ 
production filled every grade of society, from the 
court favourite down to the Lucknow “ shoda; ” 
there reproduction ceased,—human reason could be 
connected with no lower nature. 

The capital at the time of annexation contained 
700,000 inhabitants; an assemblage of human 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


19 


beings who were principally, no doubt, accumulated 
year by year to supply the wants of the court and its 
countless hangers on, as the revenues of the country 
through successive reigns were more and more ex¬ 
pended in the capital. It is impossible to enumerate 
all the parties which constituted that very large pro¬ 
portion of the city population whose livelihood was 
derived solely from the court and its dependants; 
suffice it to say, they were exceedingly numerous 
and, for the most part, utterly worthless. Accus¬ 
tomed to a life of nearly complete ease, or at best 
but fitful labour, the annexation to them brought but 
the choice of labour or starvation, and was indeed a 
day of mourning. 

The character of such miserable creatures, such 
overgrowths of a diseased state of society, may not 
be taken as bearing the slightest resemblance to that 
of the veritable people of Oude. 

The province supplied soldiers largely, not only to 
the Bengal army but to Bombay and Central India. 
Her population, nurtured amidst constant petty tur¬ 
moil and bloodshed, succeeded in carrying on agri¬ 
culture and commerce to a far greater degree than 
could have been expected, and under circumstances 
which would have depopulated most provinces. 

Still the small zemindar, or landholder, and the 

2—2 


20 


NARRATIVE OF 


labourer who tilled the soil, and who often ploughed 
girt with his sword and shield, were, under the old 
regime , most depressed, most ill-treated. 

Too weak to resist, lowest in the scale of extortion, 
the small land cultivator rarely retained of the fruits 
of his labour more than sufficient to support Indian 
life; and the only wages he could afford to those who 
shared with him this manual toil was, in Oude, 
usually three and a half seers of bajra (a very com¬ 
mon grain) per diem, equal to about 6 lbs. weight 
English measure. Passing in a direct line from 
Lucknow to Shahjehanpore, in September, 1856, I 
went through many tracts where the old state of 
things remained untouched, and where men and 
children, leaving the plough, ran to catch a glimpse 
of one of that foreign race of whom they had often 
heard, but had never seen, and under whose rule 
they had lately but most vaguely heard they soon 
would come. In their simple mind the news of the 
annexation raised but one new train of thought,— 
what share shall I now retain of the fruits of my toil ? 
will this new master take less than my old one? 
He could not more; to me therefore it may be 
good. 

To such men a change of masters was objection¬ 
able or otherwise, simply as it affected their own life 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


21 


interests. They had no nationality, and had been 
too long depressed ever to combine and lift a finger 
to aid either the good or the bad master. No doubt 
these petty landholders welcomed the annexation; 
very soon they saw a real chance of reaping a fair 
share of what they sowed, and they were not back¬ 
ward to declare their satisfaction. Many voluntary 
expressions of pleasure were daily made to me by 
such men; nor was it at all wonderful; they could 
not be worse, and might be better. 

In former years the small remnant of their crops 
that the district lord left them was sadly diminished 
by the extortions of many smaller lords; and even 
the very Passee cattle grazed on their lands un¬ 
touched. Those Passees, those freebooters of the 
iungles, were too great adepts with the bow and 
arrow for any poor man to drive their cattle away 
openly, though many a stone was slyly thrown at 
the unwitting beasts. 

I witnessed this myself, but the dread of the silent 
arrow was so great that they begged me not to take 
any notice of them; they would, perhaps, scare the 
cattle away gradually. 

The Passees noticed above are supposed to be 
an aboriginal race of Hindoos, small in stature, well 
formed, supple, and sleek; with a quick eye and 


22 


NARRATIVE OF 


amazing dexterity with the bow and arrow, he is 
always a formidable enemy to meet in his native 
jungles. Their habits are predatory, and they live 
considerably on the pigs they keep and the game 
they hunt; possessing the lower characteristics of 
many savages, they, nevertheless, are proverbially 
true to trust, and have great bodily courage. 

It was very common for bankers of Lucknow, who 
wished to remit cash to a distance, to collect as many 
Passees as were necessary, give them 100 rupees, 
with directions to deliver it to a certain man in a 
certain place. Each Passee started off, taking his 
own road, and faithfully deposited the money, re¬ 
ceiving as a reward, if the distance was about sixty 
miles, probably two rupees. 

Like all mercenaries, they fight for those who pay 
them best, and readily change sides, according to cir¬ 
cumstances. 

In villages they usually lived apart—a little com¬ 
munity, and did all the duties of chokeedars and 
guides. Vast numbers of their brethren adhered to 
their old haunts, the jungles, and carried on most 
extensive fairs of stolen cattle; the only precaution 
necessary to avoid future trouble, being to sell an 
animal stolen in the south to a purchaser from the 
north, and on this point they seldom deceived their 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


23 


regular customers. As a race, they are anything but 
beneficial to Oude. 

The sweeping away of those jungles which act as 
nurseries for vagabonds of all sorts, will do much 
towards ameliorating their condition, by forcing 
them to seek a livelihood in some of the ordinary 
channels of civilization. In warfare the natives in¬ 
variably employ these men, and often as miners, at 
which work they are clever and indefatigable. They 
attested this by a remarkable robbery, effected prior 
to the mutiny, when, by means of a mine of immense 
length dug by these Passees, the thieves got com¬ 
pletely under the treasury of a begum and removed 
a great amount of valuable property. 

Subsequently these Passees have figured in the 
mutiny as plunderers and mercenaries; during the 
siege of Lucknow many of the enemy’s mines were 
made by them, and their dexterity and perseverance 
principally entailed on the garrison that incessant 
labour which was necessary to destroy, by counter¬ 
mines, the perpetual efforts of these wretches: four 
of the enemy’s miners whom we suffocated by an 
explosion, and dug out, were all Passees. 

It is unnecessary to notice the class of middlemen 
between the wealthy talookdar or zemindar, and 
those lowest in the scale which we have now briefly 


24 


NARRATIVE OF 


touched on. Once the means of subsistence were se¬ 
cured, unfettered by any wholesome dread of law or 
certain retribution, they emulated their superiors in 
oppression, and sought by all means, fair or foul, to 
aggrandize themselves and families: with no powers 
of combination, they were not individually powerful 
enough to be of much value as friend or foe to any 
government. 

Not so the large talookdar or zemindar: they were 
a class which, formidable to any government, were 
constantly at war with their own. Ever stirring to 
increase their power, they hesitated not to avail 
themselves, by armed force, of all those chances 
which an Asiatic government, lost in licentiousness, 
offered to the daring and unscrupulous; less exacting 
than the chuckladars, they treated their own tenants 
with some degree of consideration, but all else were 
lawful prey. To dispossess a small but ancient land¬ 
holder, whose lands lay temptingly near, was an 
ordinary occurrence, in which but two parties took 
much interest, the possessor and the dispossessed. It 
is very probable that the village thus forcibly trans¬ 
ferred may have fared actually better under its new 
and rich suzerain than under its old, but poor one. 
The rich lord could well make large advances for 
village improvements, wells, &c., and often did so, in 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


25 


addition to the necessary advances for the annual 
seed crops and other agricultural purposes; whereas 
the poor man could but with difficulty probably 
borrow the necessary advances for sowing from some 
close-fisted bunnea, who found such men safe in¬ 
vestments— comfortable annuities; it is probable, 
therefore, that the village benefited by being owned 
by a richer lord, and would make but small demur, 
if any, to the transfer. Thus passed away lands, 
houses, and ancient tenements, many of which 
boasted, and could show, title-deeds bearing the 
seal and superscription of the emperors of the Delhi 
Empire in its best days. These interesting deeds 
were, many of them, extant in Oude at the annexa¬ 
tion : I saw several, and doubtless they will be again 
forthcoming when the rights of land come under con¬ 
sideration. 

The revenues of Oude may be taken as aggre¬ 
gating rupees 12,98,449 in the year Fusselee 1263, 
nominally; in reality, one crore, or about 100 lacs. 

The brief sketch of Oude, her king, court, and 
officials, with the system of government prevailing in 
her capital and districts, and the treatment of the 
various classes of men composing her population, 
will probably assist in forming a correct opinion as 
to the reception our annexation would meet with 


26 


NARRATIVE OF 


from Oude so constituted. A further short notice 
of Oude after the annexation, showing our system 
and its effects, will give a sufficient basis from which 
to understand clearly with what spirit the men of 
Oude would meet the mutiny of the Bengal army in 
1857. 

Simultaneous with the annexation and the sub¬ 
mission of the king, followed by that of his people 
in obedience to his written orders, there was spread 
over the length and breadth of Oude a government, 
modelled on the Punjaub system, complete in all its 
European and native officials, and supported by an 
army of 20,600 men, as follows :— 


Artillery Regiment 


12 Guns. 


„ Local 


18 „ 


Cavalry Regiments 


600 Sabres. 

Irregular ditto 


600 


Locals . 


. 1,500 

»» 

Police . 


700 

?> 

Infantry Regiments 


. 6,000 


„ Locals 


. 8,000 

»» 

„ Police 


. 2,400 


„ Europeans 


800 

i» 


Total 

. 20,600 

» 

Artillery 

. 

. 30 Guns. 


Cavalry 

. 

. 3,400 


Infantry 

. 

. 17,200— 



800 men of which were Europeans. 

The task of this army was easy, simply occupa- 







EVENTS IN OUDE. 


27 


tion of the country; but that of the administration, 
arduous and difficult in the extreme. 

The actions of men, to whom from the first dawn 
of manhood law had existed only to he opposed, and 
with whom justice was a tradition, had now to be 
judged by a system which, while it aimed at impar¬ 
tial justice to all, yet knew no opposition to its edicts, 
no mitigation of its sentences. The fiat of the dis¬ 
trict judge could no longer be evaded by a purchased 
remission from the capital, and blood spilt in the 
village fray must now be redeemed by years of 
arduous toil in chains. 

The institution of inquiries into rights of property 
synchronous with the settlements for revenue, and 
involving the consideration of the actions and writ¬ 
ings, not only of the present, but of past generations, 
unavoidably increased the difficulties already felt in 
making those settlements; there being but few in¬ 
stances where the time was fitting or sufficiently 
ample to make that thorough investigation, without 
which any just result from such inquiries was 
impossible. 

To show how difficult it was for the English 
assistant commissioner to convince himself who was 
the man with whom he should in justice make the 
revenue settlement, I will mention a case of very 


28 


NARRATIVE OF 


common occurrence. I state this on the informa¬ 
tion of an Oude officer, who settled a considerable 
district himself. 

Going back some hundred years, suppose the owner 
of an estate or the talookdar finds it troublesome 
to collect the revenue from all his tenants, he looks 
round amongst his friends, selects one man in whom 
he has confidence, and to whom he gives the farming 
of his revenue on contract; this arrangement being 
simply that the agent pays a regular fixed annual 
sum to the owner, and then collects the revenue 
himself. 

It is not necessary here to inquire how the 
talookdar got hold of the estate; suffice it to say, 
that a hundred years ago he was in possession. 

In the course of time this talookdar dies, and his 
son, we will suppose, renews his father’s contract 
with the old contractor; when this latter also dies, 
we will suppose, as was often the case, that the 
contract is renewed with the contractor’s son, and 
thus runs on from father to son in one family 
talookdaree right, and in the other family the right 
of collection. At last an exacting and powerful 
chuckladar arrives, and the talookdar, as unable to 
resist as he is unwilling to pay, runs away; in 
many cases this effectually checkmated the chuck- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


29 


ladar, who reduced his demands accordingly, hut 
in this instance we will suppose the chuckladar 
clever, as well as powerful. He immediately gets 
hold of the contractor’s family, and by promising 
to acknowledge them to be the rightful owners of 
the soil, induces them to make all the collections as 
before, and pay him instead of paying the talookdar. 

To perfect this, the chuckladar gives regular 
official government documents to the contractor as 
if he was the real owner. Now supposing this state 
of things to run on for some years, we can under¬ 
stand the difficulties attending an investigation in 
our courts as to who was the right man for the 
British Government to settle with, and if so, for 
how much of the land, as the estate might have 
been very much increased and added to by the 
contractor after he became acknowledged lord. 

On examination, the old contractor’s family will 
show testimony, oral and written, to eighty years 
back, that they always collected the revenue, whilst 
no proof of their being mere agents comes up at 
all; and to crown all, he triumphantly shows the 
settlements signed by the last chuckladar with him, 
as lord of the soil. It is easy to state that all former 
chuckladarree records were destroyed by such and 
such a disturbance, so common in Oude, if any 


30 


NARRATIVE OF 


attempt was made to get hold of them for refer¬ 
ence. 

The people generally know who is the real lord 
of the soil, though all do not, if the contractor has 
farmed the revenue for many years; but natives 
will not speak just when they are wanted. 

It is not difficult to perceive how perfectly un¬ 
avoidably many men were put into possession, and 
many put out of possession, of villages and lands, 
possibly very unjustly: all would, no doubt, have 
soon been rectified as further inquiries proceeded, 
but pro tem, numbers smarted, and those numbers 
were not the least powerful in Oude. Probably 
sufficient data have now been shown regarding the 
people of Oude, from which to gather a very fair 
conception of how our rule was appreciated by 
them, and in what spirit they would enter on the 
new field of chances opened to them by the mutiny 
of 1857. 

When first our rule was established, the inha¬ 
bitants, ordered to submit by their own sovereign, 
received the annexation without any very manifest 
dislike. Of course I exclude here those parasites 
and attendants on the court, who were but the 
excrescences of a system, and no index to the feel¬ 
ings of the people. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


31 


The poorest cultivators and small zemindars 
received with joy a system which they knew from 
the reports of the neighbouring districts under our 
rule, always benefited them; and it may be fairly 
assumed, that these classes of men have throughout 
the late disturbances longed for the return of our 
rule, though it never will occur to them that they 
could either individually or collectively aid us: at 
the same time, there is no doubt many of them 
have obeyed lately the re-established rule of their 
old masters, and perforce borne arms against us. 
That large mercantile class, amongst whom the grain 
merchants or bunneas form a considerable portion, 
ought to prefer any rule which secures to them an 
unmolested enjoyment of their much-loved gains; 
but by no sign, act, or word, did this class, during 
the disturbances, show they at all appreciated our 
rule which fostered them; not one tittle of their 
vast wealth did they offer towards the restoration 
of order, nor did they visibly exercise, for the sup¬ 
pression of the rebellion, that influence which the 
holders of great wealth invariably possess. Probably 
no race amongst men live so entirely for themselves. 
Never contributing one iota to the revenue, they 
often tend very considerably to injure it by lending 
money on lands at such an exorbitant interest, that 


32 


NARRATIVE OF 


both the cultivator and the land are soon in the 
market,—both alike ruined. 

The apathy of the ignorant cultivator can be 
explained; the active resistance of the dispossessed 
talookdar understood; but to what cause are we to 
attribute that apathy of these traders, who, knowing 
the value of an equitable rule, will not stir one finger 
to procure it ? 

****** 

Lastly, the large landholders and talookdars, with 
other wealthy men of Oude, not connected with the 
court, finding, at the first outset of annexation, that 
they were not to fight, looked on with almost content 
at the commencement of our system: they but half 
understood our courts, and had not yet felt them. 

Soon, however, as disagreeable inquiries arose 
about their landed rights, each felt the enemy, and, 
like the hedgehog, curled up accordingly. All were 
not equally dissatisfied; many were left in undis¬ 
turbed possession of their estates, but unavoidably 
and justly were called on to pay up those arrears of 
revenue which were due from them to the former 
administration. This they disliked and endeavoured 
to evade by every species of chicanery and procrasti¬ 
nation. It followed, as a matter of course, that non¬ 
payment of revenue met with the usual treatment in 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


33 


our courts, and the lands were taken from the de¬ 
faulter. Other wealthy men, again, who did not 
owe any arrears to the late government still suffered 
from the faulty nature of their landed rights, losing 
many villages they had lately and forcibly seized 
vi et armis; and, shorn of half their power, they saw 
with no kindly feelings, villages and lands return to 
the poor but rightful owners, to eject whom had pro¬ 
bably cost them the blood of their best friends. 

From the foregoing sketch it may be readily un¬ 
derstood that, from the very constitution of the various 
ranks of life in Oude, combined with events occurring 
after the annexation, all were, at the first burst of the 
mutiny, inclined either for active enmity or passive 
friendship ; and that the European community could 
expect no assistance from the people in crushing the 
spirit of the mutiny, or stemming the current of 
rebellion. 

Such was the attitude of the people of Oude, as 
the year 1857 unfolded its pages. The first act 
of defiance open and determined against the British 
rule in Oude, proceeding apparently from religious 
motives, and, therefore, in unison with the rumours 
of the time, was that of a moulvie, or Mahomedan 
priest at Fyzabad, who, giving himself out, as usual, 
to be a real descendant of the Prophet, entered the 

3 


34 


NARRATIVE OE 


city in some degree of state, with horses, camels, and 
armed followers, the whole locating themselves in the 
public serai, or resting house for travellers. This 
moulvie, there known as Ahmed Alee Shah, was a 
native of Arcot, in the Madras Presidency, under¬ 
stood English very tolerably, and was possessed of 
considerable acumen and boldness. He failed to 
excite that religious fervour in others which burnt 
so fiercely in himself, and by which he hoped to 
envenom all. A Soonee himself, he but little in¬ 
terested the great majority of the Mahomedans there, 
who were Sheahs, and he produced no effect at all 
on the far larger mass of the population who were 
Hindoos. These latter had yet fresh in their recol¬ 
lection the bitter rage and hate of those Mahomedans 
who had very lately, under the old rule, fought 
desperately to dispossess them of their temple, the 
“ Hunooman Ghurree.” An idle legend that a Ma- 
homedan saint was, in centuries back, buried beneath 
this Hindoo sanctuary of the monkey god, was the 
cause of a most vicious attack on it by a set of 
fanatical Mahomedans, which, though it ended in 
their most complete slaughter, yet cost the life of 
many a Hindoo brave. 

To return to the moulvie: this man, after passing 
through a vast number of cities and stations under 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


35 


our rule, in all parts of India, and establishing bis 
disciples therein, reached Fyzabad in February, 1857. 
Subsequent investigation elicited that everywhere he 
had preached a jehad, or religious war against the 
Kafirs, or infidels, as the Europeans were politely 
designated. From some places he had been summa¬ 
rily ejected, but in others evaded expulsion, meeting 
with no real check until he came to Fyzabad. Here, 
after preaching undisturbed, apparently for two or 
three days, a chuprassee informed the magistrate of 
the really dangerous tendency of this man’s doings, 
and, accordingly, the officer in charge of the city issued 
the necessary orders for his arrest. The principal 
terms demanded from this moulvie were, that he and 
his armed followers, numbering about seven, should 
give up their arms, which should be kept in safe 
custody so long as they remained in the city, and 
returned to them on their departure; further, that 
all this preaching, this distribution of money, so con¬ 
ducive to disturbance of the public peace, should be 
entirely put an end to. A deliberate refusal was given 
to every demand, and armed resistance threatened to 
every attempt at coercion, either on the part of the 
magistrate and city officer or their native officials. 
An infantry guard was necessarily put on the moulvie 
and his men during the night, and, early the next 

3—2 


36 


NARRATIVE OF 


morning, an infantry company, after failing at sur¬ 
prising them, attacked them vi et armis . Maddened 
by exciting drugs, these fanatics fought fiercely. The 
young European officer. Ensign Thomas, of the 22nd 
Native Infantry, escaping a fatal blow, received a 
slight cut on the head; several sepoys received severe 
cuts, and it was some minutes before all were shot 
down but the moulvie and two men. These latter 
were finally captured, faint from loss of blood; and 
the moulvie, wounded in the shoulder, was induced 
to come out of a dark corner in which he sought 
shelter, by the promise of a fair trial if he gave up 
his arms, or instant death if he refused. 

He and his men were eventually confined under a 
guard in cantonments, as he seemed too dangerous 
a character to keep in the city gaol. I was at 
Fyzabad at this time, and did not observe that the 
manners or attitude of the people towards Euro¬ 
peans was in the slightest degree altered by this 
transaction. Officers were constantly passing and 
repassing through the city. It would have been easy 
to detect any sympathy on the part of the people 
with the imprisoned moulvie. Eyzabad, no doubt, 
was then a loyal city, and remained so until the 
mutineers, hunting for British officers through its 
streets, convinced the people that our rule had indeed 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


37 


passed away. The whole country from Fyzabad to 
Lucknow, which I reached on the 12th of March, 
presented the same aspect of peace and quiet which 
I had observed, whilst marching, in the previous 
month, from Bairam Ghaut to Fyzabad along the 
banks of the Ghogra River. 

In March, 1857, the reins of government in Oude 
were assumed by the late Sir Henry Lawrence, K.C.B. 
The early rumblings of the earthquake, felt first at 
Berhampore and Barrackpore, were soon heard all 
over India, and found Oude still in that transition 
state from anarchy to order, on which all popular 
commotions act violently and with electric rapidity., 

That remarkable and still unexplained passage 
through Oude and elsewhere of the “Chupattee” 
symbol, occurred early in 1857, and, from the first 
movement of its advent into Oude, spread with such 
amazing rapidity, that it was calculated ten days 
more than sufficed for every village chowkedar in 
Oude to have received the little bread-cake, and 
made and passed on similar little bread-cakes to 
every village chowkedar within the ordinary radius 
of his travels. 

The natives generally may have viewed this sign 
manual flying through their villages,—so common a 
method amongst men in the early stages of civiliza- 


38 


NARRATIVE OF 


tion to warn all, for either peace or war,—as a fore¬ 
runner of some universal popular outbreak, but by 
whom, or with what class, the standard of rebellion 
would be raised, certainly was not generally known. 

The army, murmuring against the introduction of 
a new sort of cartridge, so rapidly echoed by all our 
military stations, may have pointed some men’s minds 
towards the army as the brand which was smoulder¬ 
ing and would soon burst into flame; but the mass 
of the people, little anticipating so extensive a mu¬ 
tiny, comprehended but slowly the vastness of its 
effects. To the inhabitants of Oude, it was no 
unusual occurrence for the government to be at 
armed variance with its own troops ; the elasti¬ 
city of an Asiatic government fully admitted of a 
very serious mutiny, followed by a most degrading 
compromise, on its part, without the government 
very materially suffering; hence, undoubtedly, at 
the commencement, our new subjects here did not 
look upon the first buddings of the poisonous weed 
as anything very unusual, very serions. The un¬ 
natural plant had flourished amidst their homesteads 
for many a long year, nourished by the blood of 
constant strife; and it is not a little probable, that 
the very large element in our late Bengal army, 
supplied from this nursery of our native armies, as 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


39 


Oude is aptly designated, owed in a very consider¬ 
able degree to its early education, amidst scenes of 
violence and oppression, that fitness, that readiness 
for mutiny and bloodshed which wanted but a spark 
to light it, and which, once burning, soon ignited the 
less inflammable zemindarry matter around it. 

The friends and relations of such men, and the 
inhabitants of Oude generally, no doubt, believed 
that, as heretofore, the soldiers would get what they 
wanted and that events would soon settle down; but 
still each individual instinctively girded up his loins, 
lest he should lose the chance of despoiling others, 
or be despoiled himself. 

Events and wonderful tales thickened somewhat 
rapidly in March and April. Rumours of the hostile 
intentions of the British Government towards the 
religion of their Mahomedan and Hindoo subjects 
were in rapid circulation. Cartridges greased with 
the fat of pigs for Mahomedans, and of cows for 
Hindoos, were stated to be in preparation by thou¬ 
sands, and the mixing pounded bones with the ( atta ) 
flour, were amongst the many absurd reports which 
as soon found their way into Oude as into other 
parts of India. Events seemed pointing to a war of 
caste or religion, the former so prized by the Hindoos, 
the latter by the Mahomedans. 

It is impossible to mention here all the various 


40 


NARRATIVE OF 


steps taken by the late lamented Sir Henry Law¬ 
rence, K.C.B., to preserve the soldiery in their duty 
and the people in their allegiance. Every conciliatory 
measure was adopted, consistent with the dignity of 
the British Government; and there is no doubt that, 
by his untiring energy, discretion, ability, and deter¬ 
mination, he did fan into a flame for a while the 
wavering loyalty of many of the native officers and 
men, and that the army and people generally felt that 
his was a firm and an experienced hand. In spite of 
the numerous tamperers with our sepoys, no open 
demonstration was ventured on, either by the army 
or the people, during the months of March and April. 
The Mahomedan fanatic preached his religious war 
in holes and corners, though the Hindoo pundit more 
openly prophesied the English reign was over, a new 
era had commenced; but as yet the arm of the law 
smothered the serpent’s hissing, and cauterized the 
spreading sore by numerous arrests followed by 
executions. 

These arrests very forcibly showed how much 
good still remained in the army. Plotters, tam¬ 
perers, and preachers were alike seized, and often 
on the information of native officers and soldiers, 
who aided in the arrest of the offenders. It may be 
naturally supposed that such loyalty under such cir¬ 
cumstances was rewarded with an open hand; but 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


41 


will it be credited, that, with few exceptions, all thus 
loyal equally joined the mutineers, and that one 
native officer who had received a handsome present for 
conspicuous loyalty, was hanged for as conspicuous 
mutiny six weeks afterwards : the motives that sway 
an Asiatic mind set all ordinary reasoning at defiance. 

It may convey a correcter idea of the difficulties 
to be overcome by the Government, and the danger 
threatening the European community, if the strength 
of the military force in the capital is here mentioned. 


Military force in the capital and its environs on 


April 30th, 1857,— 

Native Infantry, 3 Regiments, 13th, 48th, 71st. 

„ Irregular ditto, 2 „ 4th, 7th. 

„ Police ditto 1 „ 3rd. 

„ Cavalry, 7th Light Cavalry. 

„ Mounted Police, 1£ Regiment. 

„ Irregular Oude, 1 „ 2nd. 

„ Artillery, 2 Batteries. 

This, taking a native infantry regiment at 800 men, 


and a native cavalry corps at 600, gives as follows:— 


Native Infantry Regulars . 
„ „ Irregulars 

„ „ 'Police 


Native Cavalry, Regular 
„ „ Irregular . 

„ „ Mounted Police. 


„ Artillery, two batteries. 
Europeans—H. M.’s 32nd, strength 
Artillery, one weak Company. 


. 2,400 
. 1,600 
800 

- 4,800 

600 

600 

900 

- 2,100 


700 





42 


NARRATIVE OF 


In the very city itself, all this force was not then con¬ 
gregated. In cantonments, three miles from the city, 
the one regiment of regular cavalry and three regiments 
of regular infantry with the artillery were located; 
all else was in the city. The cantonments were con¬ 
nected by a good pucka road with the city, which 
crossed the iron bridge, and about midway between 
the Residency and the Muchee Bhawun, a fort so 
called. This iron bridge, with the stone bridge, 
formed the sole permanent communication over the 
river Goomtee for the accommodation of the inha¬ 
bitants on either bank. 

A bridge of boats considerably lower down the 
river, but liable to all the accidents of such a bridge, 
was maintained, and formed the only communication 
across the river below the Residency. 

Sir Henry Lawrence, K.C.B., had from the first 
felt the hopelessness of resisting the mutiny of the 
regular army by the aid of the irregular Oude locals, 
horse and foot; these regiments were many of them 
old king’s regiments, which had been transferred en 
masse , officers and men, into our employ at a rate of 
pay considerably below that enjoyed by our regular 
army. 

Sir Henry, therefore, foreseeing that the mutiny, 
if it rolled on unstayed, would as soon absorb in its 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


43 


rapid accumulating wave, the irregular as the regular 
mercenary in our service, entered energetically on 
that line of proceedings which, staying the wave to 
the utmost, caused it eventually to break around the 
defences of the “ Baillie Guard.” 

Thus far, to the end of April, though an unna¬ 
tural excitement prevailed everywhere, yet no open 
mutiny had occurred; times were exciting enough— 
they were soon to he more so. 

On the 30th April, the 7th Regiment of Oude 
Irregular Infantry manifested, amongst its recruits; 
who had commenced ball-cartridge practice about the 
middle of the month, a reluctance to use the cartridge. 
The officer then in the lines. Lieutenant Mecham, 
and from whom the account of this incident is taken, 
at once pointed out to the men the absurdity of 
raising objections to using that, which they well 
knew and admitted was the usual cartridge, and 
which moreover they had been using for the last 
fifteen days. The men appeared satisfied, and at 
the moment no more was thought of it; the drill 
proceeded on that day as usual. On the 1st of May, 
however, the sergeant-major again reported that 
there was a steady refusal on the part of the 
recruits to bite the cartridge, and many had re¬ 
fused either to receive or handle them. The whole 


44 


. NARRATIVE OF 


squad, about thirty men, were confined in the quar¬ 
ter-guard, and the native officers were peremptorily 
ordered to disperse the remaining recruits, who, 
after their drill, had refused to break off, and had 
remained assembled in gangs in the lines. The 
native officers generally appeared reluctant to inter¬ 
fere, and seemed disinclined to offer any assistance; 
but the havildar major, who throughout the mutiny 
behaved most creditably, informed Lieut. Mecham 
that the recruits had been taunted by the old sepoys 
with having lost caste by using the cartridges. 

It is seen here that “ caste” produced in the 
Hindoo that spirit of mutiny which in the Maho- 
medan is traced to religion. 

The native officers were shortly assembled by the 
commanding officer, Lieutenant Watson, and clearly 
shown the impropriety of their conduct; but, the 
result remaining unsatisfactory, it was determined 
to report the event to superior authority on the next 
morning. However, on that morning, May 1st, the 
native officers came up and begged the report to 
be delayed until, before the assembled regiment on 
parade, they, the native officers, had bitten the cart¬ 
ridge themselves, when they felt sure all the sepoys 
would follow their example. 

The protestations of the native officers were so 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


45 


earnest that a parade was ordered, but before tbe 
officers could reach it, when ready, the native officers 
returned and warned the officers against going near 
the men, who had threatened to shoot any one who 
attempted to coerce them into using the cartridges, 
and that the native officers who attempted to fulfil 
their promise would assuredly be shot. A report 
was made of this to Brigadier Gray, commanding, 
who wdth his staff came to the regiment, and on 
parade endeavoured to induce them to return to 
their duty. The men were sullen and the expos¬ 
tulation unavailing; Sir Henry Lawrence was there¬ 
fore informed of the state of the regiment. 

All that night and the next morning the men 
maintained the same mutinous aspect, some noisy, 
some sullen; but in the morning, about ten A.M., 
on the 3rd May, the quartermaster-sergeant came 
in hastily, and said the men were openly threaten¬ 
ing to kill all the European officers; shortly after¬ 
wards an unusual commotion was apparent in the 
lines, the men rushed to the bells of arms, took their 
arms, and seized the magazine; at the same time 
the havildar major and a few faithful sepoys came 
over to the officers and intreated them to escape, 
as the men had determined to take their lives. The 
officers armed themselves and went outside, whence 


46 


NARRATIVE OE 


they saw the men of the regiment assembled in 
masses outside their lines* but not showing any 
apparent intention of advancing on the officers. 
Seeing this* the officers went towards them, deter¬ 
mined to try if any further appeal to their senses 
could induce them to return to their duty and 
allegiance. The native commissioned officers came 
to meet their officers* and assured them no harm 
should befall them. 

After ‘some time, the sepoys so far listened to their 
officers* that they dispersed and went to their lines* 
but insisted on retaining their arms. That evening 
Captain Boileau, of the 2nd Oude Irregular Infantry, 
and Captain Hardinge* of the 3rd Oude Irregular 
Cavalry* arrived by order of the Chief Commissioner; 
the corps was paraded and each company to the 
question* “Will you bite the cartridge?” replied* 
“ Yes,” though their manner was insolent and sullen; 
no doubt the knowledge of a considerable force then 
coming from cantonments overawed them at the time. 
On the arrival of this force* the men were paraded 
and wheeled into line, the guns of the cantonment 
being loaded and portfires lighted. A panic seized 
some of the men, who fled* when the rest grounded 
arms according to order; nearly all who fled came 
back on the assurance that violence would not be 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


47 


used to the obedient, and that night the arms of 
the entire regiment were conveyed to the magazine, 
and Captain Gall, with the 1st Regiment of Irregular 
Cavalry, left in camp close to the lines. The next 
day numbers of the ringleaders were seized, and a 
court of inquiry eventually elicited that treasonable 
correspondence had been going on for some time 
between this regiment and the 48 th Native Infantry, 
then in cantonments, for the object of arranging a 
mutual rising. 

About this time the news of the Delhi mutiny 
arrived, and Sir Henry Lawrence went to the 
Moosa B&gh, where this regiment was cantoned, 
and, after dismissing almost all the native officers 
and a number of the non-commissioned officers and 
men, gave the rest their arms, and they were that 
day marched down to the city and put into the 
Dowlutkhana. The remainder, thus armed, con¬ 
tinued faithful and did good service up to the first 
day of the siege, when the native officers said the 
men could stand by us no longer. Sir Henry Law¬ 
rence, to meet the wants of a hungry multitude, 
at the same time enrolled 3,000 police, which, under 
the vigorous and firm rule of Major Carnegie, the 
city magistrate, did excellent service. During this 
month of May, active preparations were going on 


48 


NARRATIVE OF 


according to the orders of Sir Henry Lawrence, in 
collecting grain and provisions for store, and forti¬ 
fying the fort, called the Muchee Bhawun, an 
important point in the city to hold. 

The deputy commissioner, Mr. Martin, assisted by 
Mr. Williams, an extra assistant commissioner, also 
Major Carnegie, the city magistrate, and Captain 
James, head of the commissariat, were all most 
actively employed even thus early in collecting a 
large amount of grain and other supplies. By the 
orders of Sir Henry Lawrence, a force was sent to 
Cawnpore about the middle of May, as much to 
get some troops removed from Lucknow, as to 
make them of some use to the State; the destina¬ 
tion of those troops was to be Futtehghur, it being 
hoped that they would assist in quelling the rebel¬ 
lious spirit of the inhabitants in the districts north 
of Futtehghur, wherever the authorities there might 
require them. 

Lieutenant Ashe and his battery was sent to 
Cawnpore and remained there, whilst Captain 
Hayes, Lieutenant Barber, Lieutenant Carey, and 
Mr. Fayrer, a volunteer, went on with Major Gall’s 
Irregular Cavalry and some men of other Oude 
Irregular Cavalry regiments towards Futtehghur. 

From subsequent inquiries, it was ascertained 


EVENTS IN OUDE, 


49 


that, after passing Mynpoorie about the 7th or 8th 
of June, the Irregular Cavalry determined to murder 
the officers, and commenced by one of the sowars, 
a Mahomedan, nearly severing Mr. Fayrer’s head 
from his body, as the unfortunate gentleman was 
drinking water from a mussuck, which a water 
carrier, in the usual way, poured into his hand. 
The blow was struck from behind; a Sikh rissaldar 
who was in the rear, and from whose mouth I elicited 
most of the facts here given, on coming up at the 
time, at once raised up the body; the young man 
was not quite dead, as the windpipe apparently could 
not have been severed; he muttered twice, called the 
doctor, and died. The Sikh placed his body in a 
buggy, which was following behind, whilst the men 
moved on. Almost immediately afterwards Captain 
Hayes was cut down, and Lieutenant Barber, after 
shooting one man with his revolver and wounding 
three, two of whom he dismounted with his sword, 
fell pierced by countless bullets; Lieutenant Carey 
alone escaped back to Mynpoorie, and was pursued 
in vain. The bodies of the officers were brought 
into Mynpoorie by the Sikh rissaldar Shere Singh, 
who had put Lieutenant Barber’s body in the 
buggy; he managed to get away with two other 
Sikhs from the detachment, on some pretence or 

4 


50 


NARRATIVE OF 


other, and eventually four or five other Sikhs got 
away; all the rest went to Delhi. 

Whilst preparations on an active scale were going 
on at Lucknow, during this month of May, consi¬ 
derable excitement prevailed in all the out-stations, 
though nowhere else did the European community 
attempt to provision any place with the view of 
making a prolonged resistance. 

At Mahumdee, on the 10th of May, I visited 
Mr. James Thomason, the deputy commissioner at 
that station, which is on the extreme of the Oude 
frontier, and only eighteen miles from Shahjehan- 
pore. No immediate danger was on the 10th 
May anticipated by either Mr. Thomason, or Cap¬ 
tain Patrick Orr, his assistant; a company, the 9th 
Oude Irregular Infantry, Captain Orr’s old regi¬ 
ment, had just been sent there by Mr. Christian, 
the commissioner of Setapore, with a few words 
of advice regarding retreating into the fort at 
Mahumdee if need be, but no danger was then at all 
anticipated. Shahjelianpore, which I had also just 
left, was equally quiet; the regiment then seemed 
passive, and the officers one and all treated it most 
trustfully to the last. The only alarming quarter 
was Setapore. Mr. Christian from the first fore¬ 
saw that the mutiny would commence with the 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


51 


41st, and told Mr. Thomason he might depend on 
the 9 th Oude. I remember, however, distinctly 
that Mr. Thomason, had his own personal safety 
alone been concerned, intended going for protection 
to some neighbouring rajah, whose name now I 
cannot remember: circumstances eventually pre¬ 
vented this; the influx of fugitives from Shahje- 
hanpore, no doubt, decided for him his line of duty, 
in which he nobly perished. 

From the 13th to the 19th May I marched leisurely 
through the district down to Setapore, examining, 
with my assistant. Lieutenant F. W. Birch, a line 
for a new trunk road which he had surveyed; this 
took us quite through the heart of the country, until 
I came to Benigunj, opposite Setapore, whence I 
went in to stay with Mr. Christian. Nothing could 
then be quieter than the district there. The Maho- 
medan town of Peyhannee and other places, likely to 
rise quickly, were all passive. 

From Mr. Christian I ascertained the exact state 
of affairs at Setapore. Always buoyant and san¬ 
guine, he looked hopefully to quell the expected rise 
of the 41st by the aid of the Oude irregular regi¬ 
ments and irregular levies of his own, and for this he 
had good ground. The 41st Native Infantry and 
9th Oude Irregular Infantry had quarrelled some 

4—2 


52 


NARRATIVE OF 


short time previously so much that the men of the 
one regiment would not bathe at the same ghaut 
with men of the other. Mr. Christian told me this 
himself. Colonel Birch, however, commanding the 
41st, fully, and to the last, believed his regiment 
would not mutiny. 

I remained at Setapore until the 25th May, on 
which day I left it. Mr. Christian had carefully 
gone over with me his project for defence; we had 
walked together over all the ground, and considered 
all noints. Undoubtedly, if the irregular troops, the 
9tL and 10th regiments of Oude Irregular Infantry, 
and the detachment of Fisher’s Irregular Cavalry, 
had remained faithful, Mr. Christian would have 
averted the crisis, and probably saved the life of 
every one there. He was well convinced the 41st 
would rise, and were only biding their time: he saw 
no place offering a refuge to the ladies, as Lucknow, 
he deemed, would have more to do to hold itself 
than was desirable; he therefore determined to 
make the bold and daring attempt of playing off 1 
one arm of the service against the other, the irregu¬ 
lars against the regulars; the result will be shown 
in its proper place, as also his excellent arrange¬ 
ments for defence. All was done that human 
wisdom could foresee, and he fell nobly, working 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


53 


to the last. I carried away with me for submission 
to Sir Henry Lawrence a scheme by Mr. Christian 
for removing a portion of the dangerous element, 
the regular troops, from Lucknow, and turning them 
to some advantage, or, at any rate, neutralizing their 
evil propensities, by marching them up through Mr. 
Christian’s district, it being his intention eventually 
to post them along his northern frontier, and, if need 
be, use them in checking any turbulence on the part 
of the inhabitants. 

This scheme was laid by me on the 26th May 
before Sir Henry Lawrence, but was not at once 
taken up. Lucknow was then in a most excited 
state: the fortifications of the Residency as well as of 
the Muchee Bhawun were going on rapidly; Major 
Anderson, the chief engineer, superintended all the 
fortifications: the former executed chiefly by the late 
Captain Fulton, Bengal Engineers, and Lieutenant 
Anderson, Madras Engineers; the latter by Lieutenant 
Innis, Bengal Engineers. One incessant stream of 
store carts conveying grain supplies, munitions of 
war, &c., lined the principal streets. The utmost 
energies of the Commissariat Department were 
taxed by Sir Henry Lawrence, who alone fully 
appreciated the probability of a prolonged siege. 

On the 27th Sir Henry Lawrence determined on 


54 


NARRATIVE OF 


carrying out Mr. Christian’s scheme, if only to get 
rid of some of the regular troops. He appointed me 
his aide-de-camp, and ordered me to proceed with a 
column as political officer. The route was to he via 
Sundeela and Sandee up towards Futtehghur, and 
the troops told off were two troops 7th Light Cavalry, 
200 men, two companies 48th Native Infantry, 200 
men. 

In addition to these, however, I had a personal 
escort of twenty Sikh troopers from the 1st Regiment 
Oude Irregular Cavalry, and forty nujjeebs, or irre¬ 
gular mercenaries, men who bring their own arms 
and receive pay, but no accoutrements or dress; also 
six sepoys 4th Oude Irregular Infantry. As there 
were pensioners to be paid at Futtehghur, it was 
considered a good opportunity for Major Marriott 
to be escorted so far. He accordingly took command 
of the troops, but my letter of instructions distinctly 
stated that the movements of the column rested with 
me. Sir Henry felt that no fixed route could be 
laid down for the troops to march by, and therefore, 
once past Sundeela, he left their direction entirely 
to me. 

On the 28th May this small column marched and 
reached Mulheeabad, a village fourteen miles from 
Lucknow, on the road to Sundeela. The officers then 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


55 


with it were, besides Major Marriott, Lieutenant 
Boulton, commanding cavalry, Lieutenant Martin 
under him, Captain Burmester, commanding the in¬ 
fantry, with Lieutenant Farquharson under him. 
Captain Staples joined us at Sundeela, with a quarter¬ 
master-sergeant, and then, according to orders, Lieu¬ 
tenant Martin was to have returned; but he wished 
to stay, and it was unsafe his returning by himself, 
an escort being impossible. Lieutenant Tulloch, 
Native Infantry, accompanied me as an assistant 
political, and Dr. Darby was medical officer in 
charge. 

It should have been mentioned that on the 27th 
May Captain Weston and Lieutenant Mecham, with 
an escort of one company of that very 7th Regiment, 
so lately in mutiny at Moosa Bagh, went to this same 
village of Mulheeabad for the purpose of quieting the 
villagers there in open armed revolt. Zemindars of 
Oude now began to feel the noxious breath of the 
mutiny, and. were not long in becoming completely 
affected. Our march through Mulheeabad was 
watched by armed villagers, and this only fourteen 
miles from Lucknow, where three months previously 
they dare not have lifted a finger, and where the 
year before, in September, I had encamped in perfect 
security. 


56 


NARRATIVE OF 


Captain Weston and Lieutenant Mecham, when 
the column before mentioned passed through on the 
28 th, were in imminent danger, surrounded by an 
insolent Mahomedan population, to whom everything 
was a grievance, and from whom Captain Weston 
could elicit no real tangible cause of rebellion; turbu¬ 
lent spirits, they knew the army would mutiny, and 
therefore dared to take up arms. The only troops 
to protect these officers were men the infantry por¬ 
tion of whom had once mutinied a short time before, 
and the police cavalry, who were doubtful; however, 
on this occasion, providentially, they were faithful; 
for had they been treacherous, nothing, humanly 
speaking, could have saved their lives, and no doubt 
our column, en route for Futtehghur, would at once 
have followed their example. 

At this time affairs in Oude were rapidly ap¬ 
proaching a crisis; the troops at the capital ready to 
rise; the out-stations only waiting for Lucknow to 
do so, that they might follow their example. 

True the native troops in Lucknow were much 
weakened by the column just sent away, and the 
authorities were keenly on the alert; but Sir Henry 
Lawrence appeared to see from the beginning that 
the mutiny would spread far and wide. He had 
himself spared no exertions, no means to stay the 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


57 


tide: grand durbars were held, in which the faithful 
soldiers who brought forward miscreants tampering 
with the men were rewarded with an open hand, 
and on those occasions Sir Henry was wont to say 
a few words of advice to the native nobility, officers 
and soldiers assembled around him. His words were 
described by an eye-witness as plainly spoken, with 
energy and candour. Delicately alluding to the 
honours which decorated his breast, and those of 
many native officers present, he reminded them of 
the fatherly government which had bestowed them, 
and whose kindness and consideration was as great as 
its justice was sure and impartial. With all his care 
and solicitude for the welfare of Lucknow, Sir Henry 
was not unmindful of the out-stations of Oude: he 
knew well it was not necessary for him to remind 
British officers, civil and military, that England ex¬ 
pected every man to do his duty; but he issued 
letters as events thickened, and results were but too 
palpable to all the officers, civil and military, scat¬ 
tered over the provinces, desiring them to consider 
they had his permission to provide for their own 
safety when mutiny and rebellion became inevitable, 
and not to wait for its actual burst into violence. 
With equal forethought he telegraphed to Allahabad, 
warning the authorities against trusting the fort in 


58 


NARRATIVE OF 


the hands of the Sikhs. So long as the telegraph 
could work messages were daily sent in every direc¬ 
tion, and after that mode of communication had 
ceased, messengers were constantly sent with letters. 

Sir Henry was Trell aware of the critical position 
of Cawnpore, but, no doubt in unison with the 
general opinion here at that time, during May, 1857, 
did not at all anticipate so serious a catastrophe; 
one company of her Majesty’s 32nd Regiment was, 
however, sent over to Cawnpore. Events have thus 
been briefly sketched to the end of May, 1857 ; the 
30th of May opened a new scene in the drama. 

On the 30th May the moveable column before 
alluded to, as sent towards Futtehghur through 
Oude, had reached Tiloe, a village four miles on 
the Lucknow side of Sundeela, and twenty-six miles 
from Lucknow; it must also be remembered that 
Captain Weston and Lieutenant Mecham were at 
Mulheeabad, fourteen miles from Lucknow. In 
both cases the troops were intimately associated 
with those in Lucknow, and the lives of the British 
officers then out with them in the district no doubt 
depended on the actions of the troops in Lucknow. 

Providentially the 7th Oude Irregular Infantry, 
which had mutinied before, and a portion of which 
now formed the escort of Captain Weston and Lieu- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


59 


tenant Mecham, together with some mounted police, 
remained faithful, and did not mutiny. The night I 
marched from Mulheeabad, Captain Weston and 
Lieutenant Mecham were in imminent peril, and 
once he summoned me back to his aid, but before 
we had retraced our steps two miles another mes¬ 
senger said the rebels had quieted; nothing but the 
bold determined firmness of Captain Weston over¬ 
awed the 3,000 fanatic wretches who surrounded 
him. 

Equally providential was it that the column at 
Sundeela did not at once receive the true account of 
the matter, but moving away day by day farther 
from Lucknow, remained in considerable ignorance 
altogether. 

At 9 P.M., on the 30th, the troops in cantonments 
mutinied. Sir Henry, attended by Mr. Couper, 
Civil Service, the secretary, but in those times acting 
aide-de-camp in addition, at once went to the scene 
of action and ordered out the artillery and Euro¬ 
peans. The 71st, it is supposed, began it, joined 
by the 48th and some of the 7 th Cavalry, the 13th 
Native Infantry remaining somewhat faithful, only a 
portion of it mutinying. As usual, bungalows were 
set fire to, and the usual confusion and rioting 
occurred. The Artillery and Europeans drove the 


60 


NARRATIVE OF 


mutineers back on their own lines, where they lurked 
about till morning. The 7th Cavalry came up from 
their lines at Moodkipoor, and patrolled between the 
iron and stone bridges to keep the city quiet, and 
prevent any attempt at communicating with the 
mutineers. 

The troopers who were left in the cavalry lines 
on guard during the night, looted and burned the 
property they were acting guard over, and actually 
killed a fine young lad, called Raleigh, who had only 
joined the regiment a few days previously; he was 
quite a boy, and the ruthless spirit which prompted 
his murder showed the animus of the wretches: the 
lad had been unavoidably left in the lines during the 
night, and on attempting to join his corps in the 
morning, a trumpeter and a trooper killed him with 
their pistols and sabres. 

Brigadier Handscombe, who was commanding the 
troops in cantonment, and had gone out to endeavour 
to quell them, was shot almost immediately; also 
Lieutenant Grant, of the 71st. 

Early in the morning of the 31st the portion of 
the 7th Cavalry which had not then mutinied, and 
which had been on duty that night in the city, was 
sent towards its own cantonment, in which direction 
the mutineers had retired. As they entered on the 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


61 


plain, near their lines, some 1,500 mutineers and 
scoundrels attacked them in skirmishing order, com¬ 
pelling them to wait and send for the guns. About 
one-half of the cavalry deserted and joined the muti¬ 
neers. The guns eventually came up, and a pursuit 
ensued, but the cavalry behaved badly, and nothing 
like a severe blow was struck on the mutineers, who 
made off towards Setapore. It appeared afterwards 
that about one-half of the 48th Native Infantry, half 
of the 71st, with a few men of the 13th Native In¬ 
fantry, and two troops of the 7th Light Cavalry, had 
mutinied and gone off. All ladies and children were 
safely ensconced in the Residency, and the canton¬ 
ments were held by some of the remaining troops, 
with a portion of the 32nd and the artillery. 

Mr. Christian, writing from Setapore to me, thus 
describes succeeding events :—“ Accounts are that 
the mutineers fled to Mahona, one march out of Luck¬ 
now in this direction, and then struck across the 
Goomtee, westward, for Mulheeabad. Immediately 
on the express reaching this, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Birch, with five companies of the 41st Native In¬ 
fantry, marched for Peer Nuggur and will be at 
Bauree to-morrow. The colonel has written from 
Peer Nuggur, confirming the report that the muti¬ 
neers have gone to Mulheeabad. All this district of 


62 


NARRATIVE OF 


Setapore is quiet, and here we are fully pre¬ 
pared.” 

On the 1st of June news of the mutiny in Luck¬ 
now reached the moveable column near Sundeela. 
The men got the account nearly as soon as the letter 
from the secretary, Mr. G. Couper, C.S., reached me. 
That letter, written hurriedly on the moment, said, 
the 7 th Cavalry generally had stood firm, as also the 
48th, and their incessant and numerous inquiries of 
the men and officers were satisfactorily answered for 
the time; but numbers of runaway syces and attaches 
of the mutinous portion of the 7th Light Cavalry 
soon reached the column, and the men fully believed 
that there was doubt as to what their comrades in 
Lucknow had done. Their conduct changed from 
that date, and this event, no doubt, determined them 
to mutiny when they could get a convenient oppor¬ 
tunity; but there was no hurry, the column was 
going to Futtehghur, all on the way to Delhi. The 
day previous to this news reaching the column, I had 
found it necessary to take the treasure from the 
Sundeela treasury. Villagers and rascals of all sorts 
were threatening it, and moreover it was a tempta¬ 
tion to the men to take it by force if not allowed to 
have it quietly. It only amounted to 6,500 rupees, 
out of which, as the men were one month’s pay in 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


63 


arrears, so much was paid them at once, leaving 
1,200 rupees as a balance. This settled the diffi¬ 
culty, and as I did it as of my own accord on account 
of the risk of rebellious villagers seizing it, the men 
had no opportunity for outbreak, and were rather 
pleased at our apparent exceeding blindness, in 
taking the trouble to give them any pay at all, 
when they soon intended to mutiny. Doubtless they 
felt equally sure of the remaining 1,200 rupees, and 
any other odd sums in my treasure chest. 

On the 2nd June, Mr. Capper, the deputy com¬ 
missioner of Mulaon, writing to me, reported the 
Lucknow rebels to have reached Madhogunj, four 
coss from him, and begged me to aid him with the 
column ; he also reported Mr. Christian having men¬ 
tioned that Shahjehanpore had risen and had recom¬ 
mended him to entrench himself. 

I at the same time received letters from the Fut- 
tehghur magistrate, begging me not to come near 
them; that he had heard of Captain Hayes’s column 
and of ours, and felt certain that so long as no other 
troops came to Futtehghur, the 10th Regiment Native 
Infantry, would remain faithful, but that otherwise 
all would be hopeless. 

Our column was now very awkwardly situated: 
mutineers and fugitives from Lucknow in its rear 


64 


NARRATIVE OF 


and flank, the Mnlaon treasury standing temptingly 
ahead, and the Futtehghur magistrate saying, “ Don’t 
come near methe question to be solved was, where 
to put the column so that it could do no harm and 
not be led to mutiny at once. 

It was found impossible to avoid passing Mulaon, 
but it was generally agreed to bivouac somewhere 
on the Ganges, out of the route of mutineers going 
north to Delhi, and where communications would be 
unlikely to occur with any other body of mutineers. 
By this time the officers with the column were all 
well aware of the unsatisfactory state of their men. 
But the elder officers. Captain Staples, of the cavalry, 
and Captain Burmester, of the 48th, refused to credit 
my warning that the men only bided them time. It 
was most natural that men with whom they had 
spent the best twenty years of their lives should be 
trusted; how could they not believe the daily oft- 
repeated assurance of fidelity ? Were they not, as 
the snake-tongued villains said, “ the children of 
their officers from whose hands they had fed for 
twenty years ? ” Thus by flattery and protestations 
they completely lulled to sleep every fear or sus¬ 
picion. With the younger officers it was different; 
they had not the same associations to overcome, but 
they deliberately determined to die with their supe- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


65 


riors. Lieutenant Boulton told me himself, when I 
warned him to be on his guard, “ that he saw it 
clearly, but he had no wife, no family, he would 
never leave Dick Staples, and Dick did not believe 
his men would ever harm him.” This he said with 
considerable emotion, and after some hours’ consider¬ 
ation—it was a noble resolve. His letters to his 
brother officers, as stated to me by Mr. Martin, the 
deputy commissioner, fully showed the state of the 
men in his estimation, but so long as men daily pro¬ 
test faithfulness, it is not easy to credit treachery. 
The column was with difficulty safely pushed past 
Mulaon, where a company of the 41st Native Infantry 
guarded a small treasury. It was ascertained that 
had all agreed then, they would there have mutinied 
and taken the treasure, but the 41st preferred getting 
it all themselves, and so, after great dawdling and 
falling out of the ranks on false pretences, the column 
fairly marched from Mulaon towards the Ganges. 
At this time Mr. Capper, the deputy commissioner, 
thought his irregular levies staunch, and Lieutenant 
Inglis, commanding the 41st, had no open reason to 
doubt his company. 

It was arranged with the officers of the column 
and myself, that the force, after passing Mulaon, 
should encamp on the banks of the Ganges, and 

5 


66 


NARRATIVE OF 


that I should arrange with Mr. Capper to bring the 
necessary supplies there; this obliged Lieutenant 
Tulloch and myself to remain behind the column 
some hours. After great trouble and going into vil¬ 
lages, purchasing supplies and loading on elephants 
what could be carried, we reached the banks of the 
Ganges at twelve the next day, only to find the 
column all across, except our own personal baggage, 
which appeared put down on an island in the middle 
of the Ganges. The Sikhs soon ascertained, and 
reported the cause of all this. The column had 
simply refused to halt on this side of the Ganges, 
and had easily persuaded their officers it would not 
signify crossing. 

The troopers had by threats induced the small Sikh 
guard of some six or eight men with our baggage to 
go as far as the island in the middle of the river, and 
promise to bring it on when we arrived. 

The twenty Sikhs with Lieutenant Tulloch and 
myself now spoke more openly. Some of our bag¬ 
gage guard had come back to us, and they said it was 
madness to go on. The men only wanted us across to 
complete the net, and then march to Delhi. I deter¬ 
mined therefore not to cross, but to endeavour to get 
the officers to leave their men and come over to me; 
it is difficult to explain these things, but it was as 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


67 


plain as daylight that the men were not under 
control. I wrote to Major Marriott and the other 
officers, reminded them of the disposition shown by 
the men ever since leaving Sundeela, when they 
heard of the mutiny of their own corps, and im¬ 
plored them to leave the men, if they would not 
obey orders and march at once to Cawnpore, which 
was then quiet, as the troops must not go to Fut- 
tehghur. 

Major Marriott sent for his native officers, who at 
once told him it was useless issuing such orders, 
for the men would not obey. The major used all 
proper efforts, but having utterly failed, and con¬ 
vinced himself the men were no longer under 
the control either of the native officers or of the 
European, he, after some hours’ consideration, deter¬ 
mined to recross the river and join me; at that 
time such was the state of the men that he was 
obliged to come over, leaving everything behind, 
except the clothes on his back. He brought with 
him Dr. Darby, the medical officer of the detach¬ 
ment. 

The local position of the force across the river 
was most objectionable; all the country across the 
Ganges was alive with rumours and excitement, 
and the troops necessarily were in the way for 

5—2 


68 


NARRATIVE OE 


temptation to reach them easily. I stayed, as I had 
arranged, till twelve o’clock at night, and then 
commenced our return march, purposing to pick 
up the officers at Mulaon, G. Capper, Esq., the 
civil officer, and Lieutenant Inglis, commanding a 
company of the 41st. There was no doubt this 
company would rise directly it suited them, and it 
was an object to be within reach. Except the 
twenty Sikhs, our Nujjeebs, numbering forty, were 
not to be depended on; the country was rising 
rapidly in our rear, not in absolute violence, but 
quietly arming; and villages, where all was quiet 
and agricultural, now mustered their armed men, 
and collected supplies for the coming storm, what¬ 
ever it might be. Everywhere the roads were 
covered with stragglers rousing the country, and 
armed with many a plundered weapon of some sort 
or other. 

The column across the river, it was ascertained, 
moved some four miles to Chobeypore, a village 
nearer the Trunk Road, and where the men could 
get better information of what was going on around 
them. 

The date is not known, but probably on the 7th 
or 8th, it was elicited from the officers’ servants 
who had escaped, that about three p.m., just after 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


69 


the officers had dined, the assembly sounded in 
both the cavalry and infantry lines. The officers 
sent to ask about it, but the native officers would 
not come. Lieutenant Martin, of the cavalry, got 
up to mount his horse,—for they had all ordered 
their horses to be saddled. As Lieutenant Martin 
walked towards his horse, a trooper approached, and 
led it away. Lieutenant Martin called to him; the 
trooper turned and fired at him: it is not known 
whether he was killed at once; reports said that 
others fired at the same time and killed him. 

Lieutenant Boulton tried to assist Captain Staples 
away, who had received a wound, and could not ride 
his own horse. Lieutenant Boulton did get him up 
behind him, but Captain Staples was very heavy 
and fell. Nought remained for Lieutenant Boulton 
but to ride off. He did so, it is reported, and got 
away across country to Cawnpore: this, however, 
was not clearly corroborated. Of the infantry 
officers, no detailed account could be got, except 
that they there perished. 

Having perpetrated this foul deed, the men 
marched to Delhi. Some three days after leaving 
the Ganges, a letter came from Sir Henry Law¬ 
rence, calling upon the officers to leave their men 
if they showed any signs of mutiny: it was too late, 


70 


NARRATIVE OF 


but anyhow their determination was to wait for open 
violence. 

Our party marched towards Lucknow, having 
received orders to remain on the Lucknow side of 
Mulaon, sufficiently near for Mr. Capper to join, if 
necessary; this was afterwards unnecessary, as Mr. 
Capper joined us on the march. 

Lieutenant Inglis remained a day or so with his 
company after Mr. Capper left, no doubt believing 
fully his men would never mutiny; they, however, 
one morning possessed themselves of the treasury, 
and Lieutenant Inglis joined my camp in a woman’s 
doolie, or chair, carried by two men, having escaped 
from Mulaon, gone to sleep under a tree, being 
thoroughly plundered and threatened with death by 
a rajah, and eventually fed and sent to our party. 

This little force had several threatened attacks, 
but none came off. The difficulty of getting supplies 
was considerable, but otherwise no particular impedi¬ 
ments to our return march occurred. Very much 
was I indebted on several occasions to the zeal and 
energy of my assistant, Lieutenant Tulloch, whose 
ever ready cheerful aid was most valuable. At the 
town of Mohan, we seized two guns, spiked and 
threw them down a deep well. As we neared Luck¬ 
now Sir Henry Lawrence sent for me to arrange for 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


71 


our party with a slight increase, and with Captain 
Forbes, to remain out moving about near the Cawn- 
pore road. We accordingly started, hut were sum¬ 
moned in again almost immediately, as Sir Henry 
had abandoned the idea of keeping out any more 
native troops with European officers. 

The Sikhs behaved admirably on this occasion; 
they had escorted safely five officers through a 
country up in arms, where we were obliged to 
march all night, and bivouac in the day near some 
small village, and they had been sorely tempted. 
All were rewarded on reaching Lucknow; yet, in¬ 
credible as it may appear, their leader, a very fine 
young man, and some five or six others, all deserted 
during the siege of the “ Baillie Guard.” 

I must now record events in Lucknow which oc¬ 
curred during the first three days of June. Nume¬ 
rous punishments of bad characters and executions 
of rebels and deserters took place, and it was in¬ 
tended to send a company of Her Majesty’s 32nd on 
elephants to Setapore, which Sir Henry perceived 
would soon follow; but an attempt at an emeute on 
the part of the city people entirely prevented it. A 
number of bad characters, with green banners, col¬ 
lected in a part of the city called Moofteegunge, and 
in the neighbouring quarters they murdered a Mr. 


72 


NARRATIVE OF 


Mendes, a clerk in one of the public offices, who, 
strongly against the advice of his friends, ventured 
into that part of the city with only three or four 
armed servants, and then they proceeded to attack 
the kotwallee, or chief police office of the city. The 
police, wonderful to relate, at once sallied out, met 
the rebels in Hussungunge, a public and rather open 
thoroughfare, attacked and dispersed them. On the 
police side four or five were killed and wounded, 
whilst the insurgents lost fifteen or twenty men. 
Numerous arrests followed this affair, and several 
executions were effected at the usual place near the 
fort of the Muchee Bhawun. At this time, during 
the first three days of June, evidence was so far 
obtained of an extensive conspiracy in the city and 
in the cantonments, as to convince the authorities 
that the volcano existed and was ready at any time 
to burst out, hut not sufficiently conclusive to lead to 
the arrest of more than three principal men on -whom 
suspicion rested. One was a man called Shurruffo 
Dowlah, and the other two were Rookoon-ood Dow- 
lah and Mussee-ood Dowlah. Shurruffo Dowlah’s 
arrest was but partial, and never completely carried 
out; various circumstances rendered it at that time 
inexpedient, and the evidence was not sufficiently 
convicting; but the two latter were arrested, and of 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


73 


these Rookoon-ood Dowlah died in captivity in the 
Residency, and Mussee-ood Dowlah was released on 
the security of Moomtaz-ood Dowlah. This incident, 
unsatisfactory in itself, is noted here to show how 
high as well as low in the city were banded with the 
army against us; and though the authorities had no 
doubt that a most extensive conspiracy existed, the 
traces of which they had partially detected in these 
high personages, yet never was any further informa¬ 
tion obtained whatever. A resident of the town, 
who had formerly been a tuhseeldar, gave this in¬ 
formation through the kotwal, or head native police 
officer of the city, and there is no doubt of its truth. 

It may be interesting to notice that the before- 
mentioned Shurruffo Dowlah was formerly, in the 
king’s time, a very important man at court, and held 
the title of naib, or deputy; he was prime minister 
during the reign of Mahomed Alee Shah, and of his 
successor Umjud Alee Shah. During the whole 
period of the siege of Lucknow he took an active 
part in the rebel government against us, and finally 
perished in a mosque in the outskirts of the city, 
w r here he had lingered, in unison with the Fyzabad 
Moulvie and his adherents, after the British had 
taken the greater part of the city. The manner of 
his death was clearly ascertained by our troops. 


74 


NARRATIVE OF 


who, on approching the mosque, heard a scuffle 
within, and a great noise; the rebels fled hastily, 
leaving ShurrufFo Dowlah murdered on the floor, 
with his head nearly severed from his body. He 
had several times, it appeared, been accused by them 
of selling them to the British, and, accordingly, they 
murdered him when the British came near him. 

Referring back to the arrests before mentioned, 
some others were afterwards added to their number, 
and included Moostufa Alee Khan, the elder brother 
of the king, and the Rajah of Toolseepore (since 
dead), with two brothers connected with the royal 
family of Delhi. This, with the vigilance of the 
police, under Major Carnegie, kept the city tolerably 
quiet, but a new cause soon rose to add fuel to the 
already glowing fire of excitement. 

The news from our out-station rapidly and 
efficiently brought in by the horse-dawk arrange¬ 
ments, made under the orders of Sir Henry by the 
deputy commissioner, Mr. Martin, showed that the 
mutiny at Lucknow had seriously affected them. 
Mr. Christian, the commissioner of Setapore, wrote 
cheerfully; but the rise and massacre of Shahjehan- 
pore, combined with that of Lucknow, rendered the 
position of Setapore most critical. The following 
two letters written by him to me, then out in the 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


75 


district as political agent in charge of the column 
before mentioned, admirably describe the object of 
the moveable column, and also the position of 
Setapore, before the mutiny, with the preparation 
made to meet it:— 

Setapore , May 28 $, 

My dear Hutchinson, Thursday , Noon. 

I was delighted to hear that our scheme of a moveable 
column had been approved, and that you were actually engaged 
in organizing it; one elephant has already arrived, and I have 
written for four more, and hope to have in all three or four 
elephants here ready for you. 

My object in writing now is to suggest that, as soon as your 
column is ready, you march via, Mulheeabad and Sundeela, 
either to this or on at once to Sandee. 

Mulheeabad has just been added to this division, and I do not 
know the place or people. 

Besides Chowdree Mustafa Khan you mention, I hear that 
Yacoob Khan, formerly commandant of the Kazimee Pultun at 
Sundeela, is raising men near Mulheeabad, and there are lots 
of Puthans in that town. 

Sundeela is also a rather “Yagee” Mussulman town, and 
by coming via Mulheeabad to Sundeela, you will give confi¬ 
dence, and at Mulheeabad send for Chowdree Mustafa Khan 
and Yacoob Khan, having previously arranged to arrest them, 
if they refuse, and bring them along in all courtesy as pri¬ 
soners. 

Then you had better come to this from Sundeela, or go on to 
Sandee as you please. 

I should certainly like you to come through those two towns, 
and “ bone ” those two men. 

There is excitement in the Mulaon district, and if you would 
like to go off at once to Sandee from Sundeela, it would do 


76 


NARRATIVE OF 


good, and I would send the elephants to join you wherever 
you choose to name. I send this by sowars, as I am late for 
the post. 

Yours sincerely, 

(Signed) G. J. Christian. 

Setapore , June 1st, 

My dear Hutchinson, Monday , 9 p.m. 

Your letter of the 31st ultimo has just reached me. 
Since you wrote, two events have happened, of one of which I 
sent you an account yesterday. 

On Saturday night there was a mutiny at Lucknow, in which 
men from three regiments—the 71st (who began it), the 48th, 
and the 7th Light Cavalry—joined. They burnt down several 
bungalows, but failed to do more, as they were soundly thrashed 
out of cantonments, and hotly pursued by the Chief Commis¬ 
sioner with Hardinge’s and some of Fisher’s Horse. To finish 
this matter first, it would appear that a great slaughter was 
made of the mutineers who dispersed in their flight. The city 
remained perfectly quiet, and order was restored in cantonments 
when the chief wrote to me on Sunday morning. 

The only casualties were Brigadier Handscombe, Lieutenant 
Grant, and Lieutenant Martin,* of the 7th Cavalry. My 
accounts are that the mutineers fled to Muhona, one march 
out of Lucknow in this direction, and then struck across the 
Goomtee westward for Mulheeabad. 

Immediately on the express reaching this, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Birch, with five companies of the 41st Native Infantry, marched 
to Peernagur, and will be at Baree to-morrow. 

The colonel has written from Peernagur, confirming the 
report that the mutineers have gone to Mulheeabad. All 
this district of Setapore is quiet, and here we are fully 
prepared. 

I think the 41st Native Infantry will stand fast, unless they 

* This was an error; Lieutenant Martin was then out with me; 
it was Cornet Raleigh, 7th Cavalry, who was killed. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


77 


are met and tampered with; they marched out in good spirits. 
If they do stand fast, all is well here. 

If they go over, we know the worst. Even then I believe 
the 9th and 10th Oude Irregular Infantry and the military 
police will he firm. 

The other event is, that on Sunday, at Shahjehanpore, the 
Europeans in church were attacked. Poor Ricketts, the 
magistrate, was killed, and Doctor Bowling and Ensign Spens 
badly wounded. 

One report, or rather one letter, names Mrs. Ricketts as 
killed, but this, I think, is a mistake. Is she not in the 
hills ? 

The officers of the 28th Native Infantry, to the number of 
[nine], and five or eight ladies, escaped to the Rajah of Powaen; 
what part the regiment took is not mentioned, but they must 
have mutinied actively or passively. 

I write openly to you in expressing enire nous my belief that 
Bareilly and Futtehghur are likely to follow. 

At Mohumdee, Thomason and Orr are in the fort with two 
companies, 200 strong, of the 9th Oude Irregular Infantry, and 
half a company military police, and they have 200 men besides. 

Thomason, on Sunday, wrote in a confident tone that all was 
quiet, and he could hold the fort, and believed in his men. 

Here you know our position. I have placed all the ladies, 
children, and women, except some four who will not leave 
the lines of the 41st Native Infantry, in my house, and made 
all secure. I have brought up Hearsey, and the head-quarters 
have now— 


9th Oude Irregular Infantry . . 250 recruits. 

10th „ „ 330 „ 

Military Police.280 

„ (new levies) . . 80 

Chuprassies, &c.200 

We have four guns, and are placed, as you know, as repre¬ 
sented in the accompanying sketch (see next page). 

I now only wait for the attitude of the 41st Native Infantry. 



78 


NARRATIVE OF 


If they are staunch and act against the insurgents, all is over, 
and we have no trouble; if they mutiny, I think the hulk of 
our force is staunch, and that the 41st Native Infantry will make 
a run of it, and not attack us. 



I am prepared to reinforce Mulaon or Mohumdee, but until 
there is a necessity, I wish to keep the force together. Its 
strength and mixture is our security. Now, as for you, I much 
fear that the news from east and west will affect your force, 
but it is right to state that Vanrennan, in writing from Luck¬ 
now, states that the 48th Native Infantry did not join, but 
were loyal to a man. Couper, at an earlier hour, writes that 
the greater part of the 48th did join ; some of the 7th Cavalry 
joined, and some were very staunch. Now you can judge how 
news from east and west will affect your force. 

I recommend that you do not halt at Mulaon. There the 
company 41st Native Infantry will be staunch till the head¬ 
quarters go (if they ever do), and with the two companies— 
4th Oude Irregular Infantry and forty of Fisher’s Horse and 
Levies—there is a strong good force. 

But your force at Mulaon may sorely try them. 

I recommend you to march to Bawun via Soorsa, and thence 
to Sandee. Avoid Bilgram, a Yagee Mussulman town, on the 
direct road from Mulheeabad to Sandee. 

From Sandee, move in the direction of Nahtora, Konda, 
and Tandeeawun, but avoid Shahabad and Pyhanee—both 




EVENTS IN OUDE. 


79 


bad Mussulman towns—and, on no account, go into Fur- 
ruckabad. If the 10th Native Infantry have not mutinied, 
they are said to be ready to do so on the arrival of fresh 
troops. 

I never asked for, nor do I want, a troop of the 7th Cavalry; 
but the Chief Commissioner wished me, on its arrival from you, 
to send it anywhere out of harm’s way. This was written in 
confidence, so do not mention it. 

I had intended to distribute them along my northern frontier 
from Bhira to Kheree, where there is no danger and no popu¬ 
lation to coerce, and this I shall do when they come. The 
elephants are being collected; one fell ill, and I have only one 
now. Write often and fully. 

Yours sincerely, 

(Signed) G. J. Christian. 

The foregoing sketch will give a general idea of 
the position Mr. Christian took up. He depended, 
as it has been seen, entirely on his local regiments, 
and, accordingly, posted them round him; his rear 
was safe from attack, protected by a deep nullah, 
fordable only at two or three points. It may be 
seen at a glance how such a position became a 
trap, directly his own men mutinied, but we must 
not therefore undervalue Mr. Christian’s arrange¬ 
ments. 

He was well aware that no aid could come to 
him from any quarter; he felt it his duty to stand 
firm at his post, and resist to the utmost the rapidly 
increasing mutiny. Lucknow had not fallen com¬ 
pletely in its first throes; why should Setapore? It 


80 


NARRATIVE OF 


was possible that a remnant might remain faithful, 
and enable him either to hold his own or make a 
befitting retreat. His own district was in compara¬ 
tive quiet, and the loyalty protested by the local 
regiments was considerable. Determined as he was 
to stand and resist the mutiny, it was absolutely 
necessary he should trust some troops, and he 
therefore placed confidence in the local regiments, 
also raising a few levies of irregular armed men. 
All were stationed so as to command completely 
any advance of the 41st on the civil lines and the 
houses which contained the ladies (Mr. Christian’s 
own house and his office); four guns were posted 
on that front, as shown in the plan, near the 9th 
and 10th Infantry. Some irregular levies were 
placed in Mr. Thornhill’s and Captain Barlow’s 
adjoining compound, and in Mr. Christian’s own 
garden. 

On the 27th May, about noon, the vacant lines 
of the 10th Regiment Military Police were fired 
by some miscreants; the men were put under arms, 
with some other irregulars, as a rise was antici¬ 
pated, but all remained quiet, and the fire was 
speedily extinguished. The corps which enjoyed 
much confidence was the 10th Regiment. Three 
or four anonymous letters written in the Hindee 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


81 


character were brought by some men of this regi¬ 
ment to their officers. The letters stated that it 
was the intention of the 41st Native Infantry and 
the 9th Oude Irregular Infantry to make a simul¬ 
taneous rise, and murder all the European and 
Christian community, but no hint was given as to 
time or date. 

On the 2nd of June, the 10th Oude Irregular 
Infantry rejected some cartloads of flour, which 
had been sent for the use of the regiment by the 
kotwal of the city; the men said the flour was 
adulterated, and would destroy their caste if they 
used it; they also insisted on the whole of the 
flour being thrown into the river, which was done. 

It is well to notice here how by little and little 
the sepoys tested their power, and felt their way 
to open mutiny; the rejection of the flour was no 
doubt a preconcerted plan. 

On this same day, some men of this regiment 
plundered the fruit in the garden of the commis¬ 
sioner, Mr. Christian, and of some others. Lieu¬ 
tenant Greene, of the 9th Oude Irregular Infantry, 
and Mr. Bickers, late superintendent of Mr. Chris¬ 
tian’s office, went out and endeavoured to stop the 
sepoys, asking at the same time the cause of their 
irregularity. The answer was, they did but what 

6 


82 


NARRATIVE OF 


many others were doing; and if wrong, they were 
very sorry. 

Mr. Christian, it is said, paid little heed to this 
very remarkable and insubordinate proceeding, and 
some private accounts lament his doing so. A 
little reflection will show that it was but true 
wisdom. He had not the power to prevent it, he 
would not willingly hurry the bursting of the storm, 
and therefore to take no notice was simply the real 
wisdom of necessity. Preparations for flight evi¬ 
dently held no part, however justifiable they were 
or might be, in Mr. Christian’s counsels, and in 
his high position, forgetting wife and children, he 
laboured as much to quell the but too natural fears 
of the European community, as to suppress by every 
means in his power that impending danger, the more 
dreaded because unseen, which gave rise to the fears 
of those around him. Possessed of far more abun¬ 
dant and more accurate information than others, he 
saw the whole danger, and felt his duty was to brave 
it. Pay was issued to all the troops present on this 
2nd of June, and the detachments from the 2nd Mili¬ 
tary Police Regiment at Mohumdee, Mulaon, and 
the neighbouring districts, were ordered to rejoin 
their regiment,—their places being supplied at the 
various district police stations by irregular levies. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


83 


raised for the occasion by the subordinate native 
civil officers. 

It may be as well to mention here, that in order 
to give every feasibility and probability of success 
to the plan of fighting irregulars against regulars, 
Mr. Christian had sought to form his irregulars of 
many different classes, trusting they would not be 
so easily tempted to join the regulars in mutiny. 
For this reason he had raised some seventy or 
eighty Passees, and placed them along the banks 
of the “ nullah” as guards ; they had their favourite 
weapon, the bow and arrow. 

By these arrangements the supposed enemy, the 
41st, no doubt would have been well met at every 
point; but as all turned traitors, so the precautions 
of our countrymen did but render more sure their 
own destruction. At the eleventh hour only was 
it that the troops depended on moved against the 
unfortunate residents, with all the sleekness of 
Asiatic expression; their smooth-tongued protesta¬ 
tions of loyalty found but too ready belief in the 
minds of their victims, and it is not the least re¬ 
markable feature of this and other mutinies of India 
that, as the cat dallies with the mouse, so did the 
mutineers dally until the last moment. Determined 
on mutiny from the beginning, they bided but their 

6—2 


84 


NARRATIVE OF 


own time, employing the interval, according to their 
character, in blinding, by all possible means, the 
eyes of those whose salt they had eaten. 

It is well known to every resident of India, that 
the old servants of fifty years—twenty, perhaps, of 
which have been passed in your service—can, on 
the occasion of being robbed of a few rupees, or 
breaking a tea-cup, produce a flood of tears so 
copious that they bear comparison only to the ex¬ 
cessive grief of human nature under some of its 
sorest trials; it may then be understood, be in some 
measure comprehended, that the old native officer 
who had seen sixty summers, as he stood with grey 
hair and streaming eyes in the presence of his old 
commander of thirty years’ service, and there, in 
accents almost inarticulate with grief, besought, 
implored him not to mistrust, not to doubt the 
regiment they had both served in for so manv 
years — I say it may be in some measure under¬ 
stood how that old man’s pathetic appeal produced 
on the heart of his commanding officer an impression 
that the regiment after all was not so bad as was 
said, and that this old man, at any rate, was a firm 
old friend. 

At 8 a.m. of the 30th June a Mahomedan subadar 
of the 10th Regiment Oude Irregular Infantry, called 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


85 


on Mr. Bickers, the superintendent of Mr. Christian’s 
office, and after reprobating all the mutineers as 
cowardly wretches, professed himself a most faithful 
servant of the State, and declared that his regiment 
would be found faithful to the last. He then in¬ 
quired Mr. Bickers’ reasons for sending his family to 
the commissioner’s house, and, stating that the act 
implied a suspicion of the loyalty of the 10th, which 
was not fair, urged him to bring them back again, 
and that if danger occurred he, the subadar, would 
protect them. So earnest was the man that he very 
nearly lulled all Mr. Bickers’ suspicions to rest, but 
an all-merciful Providence defeated this diabolical 
attempt, for such it can only be designated, as future 
events too clearly showed. 

It is worthy of notice that a scene similar to this 
actually occurred at Bareilly, on the occasion of the 
officers sending away their wives to prevent their 
massacre, and that had they listened to their men all 
would have been lost. The supposition that native 
officers so acting really believed their regiment 
would remain true, and did not know of the intended 
mutiny, is one with which one cannot rest satisfied 
for an instant; facts too clearly showed the contrary. 
Colonel Birch, commanding the 41st at Setapore, 
up to the last minute of his life, trusted his men. If 


86 


NARRATIVE OF 


confidence was wanted, they had it in abundance. 
He had led his men out in person against the Luck¬ 
now mutineers, and in every way always showm he 
did not doubt them. 

The attitude, then, of Setapore was one of expec¬ 
tation ; the ladies were collected in two communities, 
one in the civil lines, and the other in the military; 
the gentlemen of the civil lines being located in 
Lieutenant Lester’s house. On the 2nd of June 
Colonel Birch, commanding the 41st Regiment Na¬ 
tive Infantry, returned from the position he had 
held for a short time at Baree, on the Lucknow 
road (to prevent the Lucknow mutineers coming to 
Setapore). 

On the 3rd of June, at sunrise. Major Aptliorp, of 
the 41st, informed Mr. Christian that the men of the 
41st were disaffected. Mr. Christian immediately 
went to see Colonel Birch, who, as yet, did not 
believe the disaffection general. The guns were at 
once loaded and primed, the 9th and 10th ordered to 
be ready, the police and irregular levies distributed 
here and there, and all felt some kind of confidence, 
as the only apparent danger was from the 41st. 
About 8 a.m., Major Apthorp came to Mr. Christian 
and said that the men would not be guided by him 
or listen to his exhortations; they had determined to 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


87 


mutiny. One company soon afterwards marched 
from their lines, and, taking the Lucknow road, 
went towards the treasury, wdiilst the rest of the 
regiment formed up and advanced in a threatening 
attitude on the local regiments, the 9th and 10th. 
It must be noted here that the gunners were all 
natives. 

About this time Colonel Birch, Lieutenants Greene 
and Smalley, with the sergeant-major, went to the 
treasury also. The building was about one mile 
from the 41st lines, and about half a mile from the 
commissioner’s house. Mr. Christian had previously 
ordered the late Lieutenants Lester and Dorin, with 
Captain Hearsey, to take every precautionary mea¬ 
sure. He desired Captain Hearsey to increase the 
strength of the guard at his house, where all the 
ladies and children were. Captain Hearsey accord¬ 
ingly sent a strong party of the military police, and 
some twenty of those hastily raised irregular merce¬ 
naries called “ Nujjeebs,” thus unwittingly rendering 
but too certain the destruction of those victims by 
the very men who had solemnly sworn to protect 
them. 

About an hour after the first act of mutiny, the 
march of the companies of the 41st to seize the trea¬ 
sure, Captain Hearsey was passed by Mr. Christian 


88 


NARRATIVE OF 


and Mr. Thornhill, both on horseback, going towards 
the treasury; they had hardly passed him a minute 
when Captain Hearsey heard firing in that direction, 
and those gentlemen cantered back to where Captain 
Hearsey was standing, and informed him that Colonel 
Birch and Lieutenant Graves had been shot by their 
men, and that he might presently expect an attack 
from them. Nothing clear is known of the fate of 
Colonel Birch, except that his men shot him at the 
treasury, whilst he, with a noble confidence, utterly 
lost on such wretches, continuing to point out to 
them the madness of their folly, and exhorting them 
to listen to his words, died trusting them to the last. 

Just before the colonel was shot, Mr. Bickers, 
the superintendent of the commissioner’s office, who 
had galloped over to the 41st lines, found all quiet; 
the sepoys said the colonel had gone to the treasury 
with some men. 

Mr. Bickers also visited the house of the quarter¬ 
master sergeant of the 9th Regiment Oude Irregular 
Infantry; all was quiet there, according to Sergeant 
Abbott’s account, who entirely trusted his own men. 

The systematic plan of this mutiny merits atten¬ 
tion : there was no extenuating feature here. Cursed 
by an avaricious furor, as well as by a mutinous 
spirit, these petted soldiers quietly possessed them- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


89 


selves of the treasure first to prevent others doing 
so, and then deliberately commenced the work of 
murder. 

Lieutenant Graves was not shot, as Mr. Christian 
had supposed, but only wounded; he was, provi¬ 
dentially, able to gallop back to his lines and give 
warning to all his brother officers and their families, 
who at once started off for Lucknow. 

Very soon after the shots were heard at the trea¬ 
sury, musketry was heard in the lines of the 9th 
Oude Irregular Infantry, and a sepoy running from 
the regiment to Captain Hearsey, informed him, in 
breathless haste, that the men had shot Captain 
Gowan and Dr. Hill. This appears to have been 
the signal for the concerted rise of all the irregu¬ 
lars. Quartermaster-Sergeant Abbott escaped from 
the 9th Oude Irregular Infantry to Lieutenant Les¬ 
ter’s house, with a severe flesh wound in the arm; 
this was bound up for him by Mr. Bickers. Some 
of the Christian community, with Sergeant Abbott, 
now crossed the stream in rear of the position before 
the troops in the garden and on its banks had them¬ 
selves joined in the mutiny, and thus escaped into 
the jungles. 

Mr. Christian, on hearing the musketry on the 9th 
Oude lines, took his rifle and advanced towards the 


90 


NARRATIVE OF 


military police, commanded by Captain Hearsey. 
Mr. Christian and also Mr. Thornhill had, a short 
time previous, been begged by Captain Hearsey to 
hurry home and get the ladies and children across 
the stream in their rear, their only remaining chance 
of safety. They did go quickly home, but could 
scarcely have had time to make any arrangements, 
when Captain Hearsey saw the 10th Regiment Oude, 
Irregular Infantry give a shout and charge right into 
Mr. Christian’s garden: that instant all the irregular 
lines joined in the hellish massacre—all was lost, and 
flight only remained. To give a connected account 
of the events of the next twenty minutes in this part 
of the station cannot be expected, but the following 
is all that can be ascertained with apparent truthful 
evidence to support it. 

Mr. Christian, finding all were turning against 
him, walked deliberately down towards the river, 
preceded by his wife, with an infant in her arms, 
their other child being already across the river with 
the nurse, or being taken across by Sergeant-Major 
Morton. It is not quite certain whether Mr. Christian 
had with Mrs. Christian reached the other side of 
the stream, or only reached the bank on this side ; I 
think Lieutenant Lester, when in the Baillie Guard, 
told me he had seen Mr. Christian on the other side. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


91 


If so, as evidence shows they were together, they 
had just crossed and that would he all, when Mr. 
Christian fell dead, pierced by many balls. Nobly 
had he braved the storm, nobly he died. His poor 
wife, from the evidence elicited, appears to have been 
a little in advance of him, and as he fell on his face, 
shot from behind by the traitors around his own 
house, she had sat down beside him with the little 
babe in her arms. At this moment the infernal din 
is portrayed as baffling all description, and yet a 
more exquisitely touching scene can hardly be con¬ 
ceived than the one before us. Her own house 
behind her in flames, casting its lurid glare on the 
little stream between them, which, already copiously 
stained with the blood of her race, offered but a 
temporary obstacle to some 1,200 fiends, who, with 
an incessant yelling, shouting, firing, rained from 
their muskets death on all around her; still, there 
sat that Christian mother with her babe, a little 
moment, unheeded and unheeding, for before her 
lay him dead. It was but a moment ; the savages 
knew no mercy; in the full swing of passions un¬ 
restrained, they found a lower depth amidst the 
lowest hell: all sexes were alike to them, and age- 
brought no exemption—the infant and its mother 
were numbered with the dead. 


92 


NARRATIVE of 


Of Mr. and Mrs. Thornhill, the account is unsatis¬ 
factory; but all concur in showing that they met 
their death either in crossing or across the stream. 
Their little girl, Cathy Thornhill, is supposed to have 
been temporarily rescued by some one of the parties 
who did escape, but to have died under subsequent 
fatigue. Little Sophy Christian, who is mentioned 
to have previously crossed the river with her nurse, 
was eventually taken care of by Sergeant-Major 
Morton, as the nurse was shot by one of the million 
bullets flying about. 

Sir Mountstewart Jackson and one sister, with 
Sergeant-Major Morton and little Sophy Christian— 
who died afterwards in captivity in the Kaiser Bagh, 
at Lucknow, escaped to the Mitholee Rajah, where 
they found Captain and Mrs. Orr, who had escaped 
the massacre of the Shahjehanpore fugitives. It is 
not on record how Sir M. Jackson and his party 
managed to reach Captain Orr, as the Shahjehanpore 
fugitives were massacred in Oude. It may be as well 
to note here that all that is known about them will 
be found in an account farther on in this work, 
written by Captain Alexander Orr.* 

Lieutenant Lester told me that he succeeded in 
reaching the jungle in safety, and he there met 
* A surviving brother of the captain here mentioned. 


EVENTS IN OXIDE. 


93 


Quartermaster-Sergeant Abbott; with him he wan¬ 
dered for some hours, and, strange to say, either on 
that or the next day, a native told them of an Euro¬ 
pean woman and child being in the jungles, hiding. 
The man, on being requested, took them to her, and 
Sergeant Abbott saw before him his wife and child. 
Mr. Bickers, the superintendent of Mr. Christian’s 
office, got safely across the river, under a shower of 
bullets, with his wife and three children, one only 
eight days old. 

Mrs. Morton, wife of Sergeant-Major Morton, and 
one child, also Mrs. Brown (wounded), sister-in-law 
of Sergeant Keough, 9 th Oude Irregular Infantry, 
and one child, and Sergeant Anderson, 10th Oude 
Irregular Infantry, all crossed safely. 

Mr. Bickers and family reached Lucknow on the 
8th June, after experiencing great hardships, and 
Lieutenant Lester, with the others named above, 
reached two days later. 

To Lieutenant Lester’s admirable knowledge of 
the country and the people, may be attributed very 
greatly their safe arrival. He at once led the way 
to a neighbouring zemindar (name unknown), and ob¬ 
tained food and shelter for immediate wants, besides 
the ways and means for their being passed on from 
one man to another, until they reached Lucknow. 


94 


NARRATIVE OF 


It may not be inadmissible to mention here, that 
Lieutenant Lester was killed very shortly after the 
siege of Lucknow began, about the 18th or 19th of 
July, 1857. I saw him directly after he was hit; the 
ball, one of the many flying about from all sides, 
struck him in the back near the neck, and injured 
the spine, so that the lower limbs became powerless. 
At the time he was on the top of a house called “ Mr. 
Gubbins’ stables,” and doing his best to aid in keep¬ 
ing down the fire of the besiegers. The spine was 
injured, and he sank very gradually, getting weaker 
and weaker; it was on the second or third day after 
being wounded that, having been raised up to make 
his bed comfortable, very shortly after w T e had laid 
him down again he passed away almost imper¬ 
ceptibly. Mr. Christian told me, on a former occa¬ 
sion, that Lieutenant Lester was one of the best 
and most promising young officers he had met 
with. 

Another party, consisting of Mrs. Dorin, widow 
of Lieutenant Dorin, 10th Oude Irregular Infantry; 
Mr. D adman, his wife, mother, mother-in-law, and 
four children; Mr. Morgan and wife; Mrs. Horan 
and five children; Mrs. Keough, widow of Sergeant 
Keougli, 9th Oude Irregular Infantry, and child; 
Mr. Birch, son of Colonel Birch, commanding at 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


95 


Setapore; Miss Birch, daughter of ditto; and Mrs. 
Ward, all reached Lucknow on the 28th June, having 
been protected by a zemindar of Ramkote, who was 
liberally rewarded by Sir Henry Lawrence, K.C.B. 
Mrs. Cranenburgh, Mrs. Owen and her two sons, 
and Mr. Scott, preferred staying with the zemindar 
at Ramkote, so it is said. Another account states 
that Mr. and Mrs. Cranenburgh were shot as they 
endeavoured to escape from their own house. Mr. 
Phillips, a clerk, and his wife escaped by native dis¬ 
guises, and actually, after various escapes, succeeded 
in reaching our column, which went from Lucknow 
in April towards the position of the rebels on the 
Gogra, thus having been ten months in concealment. 
The list of killed at Setapore is as follows :— 


41st N. I. 


Mr. and Mrs. Christian, 1 child, and a European nurse 
Mr. and Mrs. Thornhill „ „ „ 

Lieutenant-Colonel Birch ^ 

Lieutenant Smalley 
Sergeant-Major Middleton 
Lieut. Graves, wife, and child 
Dr. Hill .... 

Sergeant-Major Keough, and 
two children 
Lieutenant Greene 
Lieutenant Dorin 
Lieut. Snell, wife and child , 

Mr. Cranenburgh, clerk . 


Total persons 


9 th Oude Irr. Infantry . 8 


| 10th Oude Irr. Infantry 


. 24 



96 


NARRATIVE OF 


The officers of the 41st at the other end of the 
station, we have noticed, escaped safely into Luck¬ 
now, some few of the sepoys escorting them a little 
way. We must now return to Captain Hearsey, 
who was left with his military police. 

Captain Hearsey thus describes his position and 
subsequent wanderings :— 

The cruel work of carnage in the civil part of the station had 
been commenced hy the 10th Oude Irregular Infantry, hut all 
others, as they arrived in succession, joined in the ruthless 
slaughter without exception or distinction. The din created 
hy continued discharge of musketry for some time, the shout¬ 
ing of men and general conflagration of the houses and build¬ 
ings, baffles all description; in fact, the whole place appeared 
like one pandemonium. 

About 2 p.m., we were removed from under the tree to the 
late Captain Barlow’s house, which had not been burnt till that 
time. Whilst there, my kitmutgar came in and informed me 
that he had seen poor Miss Jackson and another lady concealed 
in a hush on the other side of the river. I instantly started up, 
but Suhadar Rugnath Sing and the men would not allow me to 
leave the house. However, I earnestly begged—since their in¬ 
tentions appeared friendly, and to save my life—either to enable 
me to effect the rescue of these ladies or perish in the attempt, 
on which some men ran out in the direction pointed, and in a 
very short time brought Miss Jackson and Mrs. Greene—the 
latter, wife of Lieutenant Greene, second in command of the 
9th Oude Irregular Infantry. 

Towards evening, I obtained a covered cart, called a bhylee, 
belonging to one of my servants. In this I put the two ladies, 

I 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


97 


Sergeant-Major Rogers, his son and wife, and assuming a 
native disguise, accompanied by some of the men, I marched 
towards the camp of the mutinous troops, which was pitched 
on the parade ground and topes adjoining. Owing to the con¬ 
fusion which prevailed, I succeeded in reaching the neighbour¬ 
hood without detection, and put up under a tree near the 
military police. This measure I was obliged to adopt by the 
advice of Subadars Rugnath Sing and Madho Misser, who 
represented that any attempt on my part to escape at that 
critical moment would be fraught with imminent danger, as 
numberless parties of marauders from the regiments were out 
in pursuit of fugitives and plunder, to wait till it was dark, and 
that they would arrange about my departure. 

The native officers of the 41st Native Infantry and the 
other regiments, notwithstanding the precaution above related, 
having by some means received information that my life had 
been spared, sent a deputation, saying, “ that as they had mur¬ 
dered all their officers, it was imperatively necessary that the 
military police must either follow their example, or deliver me 
up a prisoner to them.” On this being refused, the mutineers, 
apprehensive of causing dissension at so early a period, directed 
that the point in dispute should be settled by punchait, or 
arbitration, of a certain number of native officers from each 
regiment, at 9 p.m. 

Subadars Rugnath and Madho Misser came and informed me 
of the circumstance, recommending an immediate departure, it 
being very near the time, and the night perfectly dark. Before 
the assembling of the council, I was enabled to leave. Placing 
the two ladies, Mrs. Rogers, and her son, on my elephant, the 
sergeant-major and myself mounted on horseback, we left for 
the north about 9 p.m. Madho Misser Subadar and fifteen 
men accompanied as an escort. My arms, which had been 
taken away at the commencement of the massacre by Subadar 

7 


98 


NARRATIVE OF 


Rugnath and six men, were restored; but the rest of my pro¬ 
perty, to a very considerable amount, fell into the hands of the 
mutineers. 

We travelled all night, and by sunrise arrived at the village 
of Oael. I was refused admittance into the fort by Rajah 
Unrood Sing’s people; but as the ladies were suffering much 
from fatigue and want of sleep, I sent a man, begging per¬ 
mission to be allowed to rest ourselves for a couple of hours. 
Even this request, though trifling enough, was refused. With 
much difficulty I obtained two of his followers, in order to 
secure us a safe passage through his district. Accompanied 
by these (the subadar and men having left us here), we 
pushed on towards the north, and reached a small fort near the 
Chowka River late in the evening. After a night’s rest, we 
crossed over and marched to Baragaon. During the night, 
the elephant broke loose and disappeared ; in consequence 
of which accident, I was obliged to halt for two or three 
days. Whilst at this place, I received a letter from the 
late Mr. H. Gonne, who had been informed of my flight, 
mentioning that himself and Captain Hastings had been 
joined by Messrs. Brand and Carew from Shahjehanpore, and 
that they were going down to Calcutta. He wished me to 
meet him at Mullapore without delay, as he had boats in 
readiness for the trip. 

A day previous to this, I had written to Raj Aunut Sing, 
uncle to the Dhouraira Rajah, who sent down his elephant, a 
native palkee, and two tats; these were found awaiting our 
arrival across the Oorra River ; and we continued our march to 
Mutteeara village, the place of residence belonging to the Rajah. 
We remained here about ten hours, and in the evening, accom¬ 
panied by Raj Aunut Sing, went down by the river Kow- 
reeally, and reached Mullapore next day, where we met the 
late Mr. H. Gonne. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


99 


The party now consisted of eleven persons, as marginally 
noted,* including myself. 

Boats having been kept in readiness, we got on board during 
the night, on our way for Calcutta. Arriving at Rampore on 
the second day, we were kindly received by Thakoor Gooman 
Sing, who, after giving rest and refreshments in his place, in¬ 
formed us that a passage down by the river would be very unsafe, 
owing to the ghauts being narrowly watched by the mutineers. 
Mr. Cunliffe and others, who were going on to Lucknow from 
Baraitch, had been murdered whilst crossing at Byram Ghaut 
only the day previous. This disheartening news made us 
retrace our steps by land towards Mutteeara. On arrival, 
Fukerooddeen Khan, the government agent, received us in the 
name of the Ranee and the young Rajah, gave every assurance 
of safety and protection, telling the late Mr. Gonne that, on 
the approach of any danger, we should have timely notice, 
and boats would be kept in readiness to send the party across 
into the jungles, where we should be perfectly safe from 
pursuit. 

We remained at this place for nearly two months. At the 
end of the period, in the early part of August, about 300 men of 
Girdharra Sing’s regiment arrived from Lucknow, sent by the 
rebels then surrounding the garrison in Baillie Guard, to take 
us in. For two days we remained armed, and kept watch the 
whole night, refusing to go; but finding that Fukerooddeen 
Khan and the Ranee would neither assist nor allow us to 
escape, we began to suspect treachery. At last—seeing no 
other alternative, and as a last resource—a sort of compromise 

* Miss Jackson, Mrs. Greene, Mrs. Rogers, Mr. H. Gonne, Capt. 
Hastings, Mr. Brand of Shahjehanpore, Mr. Carew of the same 
place; Sergeant-Major Rogers, 2nd Military Police; Mr. Brown, 
writer in Mr. Gonne’s office; and J. Sullivan, step-son of Sergeant 
Rogers. 


7—2 


100 


NARRATIVE OF 


was made with the leader of these mutineers, Bunda Hussun, 
of Tumbour; and the party, after nearly a week’s delay, 
marched towards Lucknow. Fukerooddeen Khan, with 400 
men of the Ranee’s, was also sent. On our second march 
from Mutteeara, Takoor Dabee Sing, a respectable zemindar 
in the Dhouraira Rajah’s service, came in the evening, and 
confirmed our former suspicions, saying, “ the Ranee and the 
government agent had formed a collusion with Bunda Hussun, 
and deliberately sold us to the rebels ; that the agreement 
signed by the latter, allowing us to retain our arms, would be 
violated on arrival at Esanuggur.” 

This alarming piece of intelligence put the party on their 
guard. We held a consultation, and flight was decided upon. 
Next evening, finding an opportunity, a few valuables were 
secured; amongst the number, I carried my diary and some 
other papers. We placed the two ladies and the sergeant- 
major’s wife on the late Mr. Gonne’s elephant, and, mounting 
our horses, fled towards Khyreegurh, en route to Rajah Koolraj 
Sing’s place, Kullooapore. Travelling all night and till 2 p.m., 
the party reached Bunbeerpore, a village in Rajah Rundhooj 
Sahaee’s district. Here we dismounted to have refreshments, 
and give our jaded animals some rest. Whilst at meals, several 
villagers came in, running to give notice that about 300 men of 
Dhouraira, sent in our pursuit by the Ranee, were within a 
short distance. Instantly leaving the village and proceeding 
farther to the north, we arrived on the banks of the Mohan 
River about an hour before sunset, but could not get the ferry 
boat. The late Mr. Gonne proposed going up the stream, two 
miles to the west, where, he said, the Kowakhaira Ghaut might 
be found fordable. This also proved a failure, owing to the 
river having risen much. In the midst of a dense high grass 
and tree jungle, drenched to the skin from the pouring rain, 
since leaving Bunbeerpore, the position of the party, espe- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


101 


cially of the poor ladies, was uncomfortable to an ex¬ 
treme. 

Whilst deliberating how to get across, suddenly a shout was 
raised; our pursuers, under coyer of the brushwood, had gained 
upon us. Fastening the horses in a neighbouring hollow, we 
took up position behind trees. Presently the enemy opened 
a fire of matchlocks and commenced advancing, but very 
cautiously, as they knew we were all armed with good double- 
barrelled rifles. When within fifty yards, I obtained a glimpse 
of the leader and fired: the shot took effect, which checked 
their further proceeding. Meanwhile, the ladies, who had con¬ 
tinued mounted on the elephant, and Mr. Carew with them, 
went off towards the west when the firing commenced ; the 
rest of the party also retired, the late Captain Hastings and 
myself remained back to bring up the rear. We followed the 
tracks of the elephant for a considerable distance, but from the 
nature of the ground and the approaching darkness, the traces 
became more and more indistinct every moment. The late 
Captain Hastings suggested: “ It is more than probable that 
Mr. Carew has taken the ladies to Rajah Rundhooj Sahaee’s 
place; ” for he always used to speak of him as a very great 
friend, therefore it was useless our following, as, owing to the 
cause above mentioned, we should never be able to overtake 
them, but very likely fall a prey to tigers or wild elephants. 
This made us decide upon taking shelter in a patch of grass on 
the banks of the river. 

The horses and property left in the hollow were of course 
plundered when the enemy came up to the spot, as, for safety’s 
sake, we were obliged to abandon all. 

The late Captain Hastings and myself, not being able to 
overtake either the elephant or the other members of the 
party, swam across the river at 8 p.m., and remained under a 
tree during the night. Next morning we pushed on towards 


102 


NARRATIVE OF 


the direction of Kullooapore. Barefooted, and with scarcely any 
clothing, we reached the village of Sonapatha. This place be¬ 
longs to Rajah Koolraj Sing, of Pudnaha. His karinda, or head 
man, supplied us with food, and gave the loan of two tats, which 
enabled us to prosecute our journey. Here we met Mr. Brand 
and Sergeant-Major Rogers. These also had swum the river 
in company with Mr. Brown, the writer; but, unfortunately, 
before the latter could gain the shore, an alligator pulled him 
in. Exhausted and foot-sore, we reached Kullooapore late in 
the evening, where the late Mr. Gonne joined us on the day 
following. 

Having learnt from Sergeant-Major Rogers that the two 
ladies, Mr. Carew, Mrs. Rogers, and her son, were still in the 
forest, we got Rajah Koolraj Sing’s uncle to send out parties 
in that direction. In the evening they came back, after a 
fruitless search. Although disappointed in the first instance, 
we halted for two days, sending out men well acquainted 
with every part of the jungle ; but these also, I regret to 
observe, returned without gaining any satisfactory infor¬ 
mation. 

The Dhouraira Ranee’s followers, meanwhile, having learnt 
of our being at Kullooapore, came across the river, and were 
within a mile of the place, when intelligence was brought us 
during the night. We fled towards the forest of Seeshapanee, 
and remained concealed there for a couple of days. On the 
third, a jemadar of Rajah Koolraj Sing took us to Bulchoura, 
and from thence to Dholee Kote in the Nepaul hills. From 
the effects of the deadly climate and recent sufferings, the 
whole of the party, now reduced to five persons, was laid 
up with juugle fever. The Rajah showed every kindness 
and attention; he furnished us with clothes, food, and shelter 
—the latter, though merely a grass hut, was prized as the 
greatest comfort; for during the past week, our only canopy 


EVENTS IN OXIDE. 


103 


had been the heavens, and this during the most inclement part 
of the season. 

Some days after our arrival at Dholee Kote, we heard a 
report about the ladies and the others who had got separated 
on the banks of the Mohan from the party, of their having 
fallen into the hands of the Dhouraira people, and taken back 
to Mutteeara, from whence they had been forwarded to Luck¬ 
now. Further particulars regarding the facts, or of their fate, 
we did not hear, nor had we the means to ascertain. The late 
Mr. Gonne, after twelve days’ sickness, died of the jungle fever 
at this place. For upwards of three months, our party, now 
diminished to four, continued to reside in these hills; after 
which we came down to Bulchoura with the Rajah and his 
family, and lived in the Turaee. To avoid observation or 
inquisitive inquiries of the people belonging to the plains, our 
reed hut was constructed in a very remote part of the forest, 
far from any habitation. It is needless to add that our suffer¬ 
ings, both mental and physical, notwithstanding the Rajah’s 
kind attention during our stay in this unhealthy place, were 
very great. Here the late Captain Hastings died on the 28th 
of December, 1857. About the latter end of this month, the 
Rajah received an order, signed by Shurfood Dowlah, saying, 
that the Durbar had received authentic information from the 
Ranee of Toolseepore, that he still gave protection to five 
Europeans in his district, and “ that he must either send them 
in, or their heads, without delay.” 

Moreover, a letter which I had received from Mr. Wing¬ 
field, commissioner of Goruckpore, sent through the Rajah 
of Bulrampore, made us decide upon leaving our retreat 
for that place, the road being now practicable through the 
Nepaul hills. Mr. Brand and Sergeant-Major Rogers, being 
still weak from continued illness, were sent by the Rajah to 
the nearest military post in Nepaul, called Dyluck, and 


104 


NARRATIVE OF 


from thence to be forwarded by the authorities to Boot- 
well. 

Being myself anxious to reach in time to accompany Jung 
Bahadoor’s force into Lucknow, I made a short cut, travelling 
along by the bed of the Bubye, I managed to reach Sirree- 
gounth, which is three marches from Lulleeana. On arrival, 
a party of hill-men, just arrived, informed me that the pass of 
Bootwell was blockaded by 20,000 rebels, led by Goorooper- 
shad of Nepaul, and several relations of Jung Bahadoor, who 
were in command at Palpa and Pewthana, had been put in 
confinement by the Gorkha regiments. This startling news 
was confirmed by the karinda of the Ranee of Sirreegounth, 
which induced me to return to Bulchoura. 

Oude and Rohilcund being still in possession of the rebels, 
I was unable to make my way direct to Lucknow; therefore, 
assuming the disguise of a native trooper in want of service, I 
marched towards Burrumdeo ; passing through a great portion 
of the Oude Turaee, and undergoing many hardships, I ulti¬ 
mately reached the place in twelve days, where I met General 
Krishndooj of Nepaul. He received me most kindly and 
enabled me to proceed. On the 29th of January, 1858, I 
arrived at Loohoo Ghaut, and from thence, after a tedious jour¬ 
ney across the hills, via Nynee Tal, Mussoorie, and Meerut, I 
reached Lucknow. 

The next on the list of mutinies in Oude is 
Fyzabad. 

The following account by . Captain Reid, deputy 
commissioner of Fyzabad, gives considerable in¬ 
formation regarding this mutiny:— 

By the beginning of June, in the absence of any decisive 


EVENTS IN OUDE, 


105 


news from Delhi, it became evident that Fyzabad, with all the 
out-stations (in none of which were any European troops) 
must fall; though, as usual, the troops, consisting of a horse 
battery, 22nd Native Infantry, 6th Local Infantry, and a 
squadron 15th Irregular Cavalry, were most vehement in 
their protestations of loyalty to the last. 

We at first intended to endeavour to hold the city against 
the mutineers, with the aid of the friendly zemindars and 
native pensioners; and, with this view, Captain Thurburn, 
special assistant commissioner, laid in supplies, and partly forti¬ 
fied the walled enclosure in which his residence was situated; 
but we were compelled to abandon this intention, as we found 
that the zemindars, however well disposed, would not fight 
against disciplined troops with guns. 

On the 5th of June, I think, the late lamented Colonel 
Goldney, commissioner of the division, told me he had received 
instructions to direct me to send all the ladies and children 
into Lucknow. I replied that it was too late, as they could 
not be sent with safety through the Durriabad district, which 
was in a very disturbed state; a tuhseeldar having already 
been murdered, and that, besides, I was in hourly expectation 
of hearing of the mutiny of the Durriabad troops. 

Prior to this, talookdars Rajah Maun Sing, Oodres Sing, 
Thakoornaryun Rughonauth Koonwur, Meer Baqur Hoosain, 
and Nadir Shah, had sent to offer an asylum to one or all of 
the civil officers’ families; they all spoke of the mutiny as a 
certainty. 

The Mahunts, too, of the famous Hunooman Ghurree, from 
the first exerted themselves to keep the troops steady, assuring 
them that the outbreak was but a puff of wind, which would 
soon pass away, and warning them that, if they proved false 
to their salt, they would have reason to bitterly regret their 
treachery. They now offered to receive any Europeans who 


106 


NARRATIVE OF 


might seek their protection, and, at the suggestion of Colonel 
Goldney, I sent them a thousand rupees to meet any necessary 
expenditure. These men, as well as the talookdars above men¬ 
tioned, have all, I fear, since turned against us. 

Of the above, Rajah Maun Sing was by far the most influen¬ 
tial, and he alone had the power to afford protection to all the 
ladies and children of cantonments and the city; he was then 
in close but honourable confinement, having been placed under 
arrest by the commissioner, in obedience to orders from Luck¬ 
now. I was much opposed to this step, as, wnatever may have 
been Maun Sing’s conduct since, I had every reason to believe 
that he was then well affected to our Government. 

Believing that Maun Sing was both able and willing to pro¬ 
tect the ladies and children, and seeing no other means of 
insuring their safety, I proposed to send them to his fort of 
Shahgunj, twelve miles south of Fyzabad. The commissioner 
agreed to this proposal, and authorized me to release Maun 
Sing from arrest, and also to provide funds for the payment of 
men to garrison his fort.* I therefore proceeded, accompanied 
by Captain Orr, assistant commissioner, to the building—a 
house of his own—where Maun Sing was. He reiterated his 
offers of protection to the families of the civil officers, but made 
some demur about those of officers in cantonments, as receiving 
them would render futile any attempt at secrecy, and greatly 
increase the hazard of the undertaking. 

* Note by Captain Hutchinson:—“I must remark here that 
Maun Sing was in confinement on a revenue question, when Capt. 
Alexander Orr, the assistant commissioner, who had known him 
for several years, begged his release, and it was entirely owing to 
Maun Sing’s former long acquaintance with Captain Orr under 
the old regime that Maun Sing first offered to save Captain 
Orr’s wife and children, and afterwards was induced to extend his 
protection to the large number he saved.” 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


107 


Of course, we told him we could not accept this limited 
offer; and, after some discussion, he agreed to receive all, on 
condition that the move from cantonments should be made 
quietly and secretly, not only because he doubted whether the 
troops would allow the officers’ families to go, but because 
he required time to collect men and mature his own arrange¬ 
ments. 

Captain Orr and I then repaired to cantonments where all 
the officers were assembled, and communicated Maun Sing’s 
offer, with the condition attached to it. We suggested that the 
ladies should go out, as usual, in the evening, for a drive, and, 
instead of returning, proceed direct to Shahgunj. 

The officers doubted the practicability of the scheme, and 
also urged that it would have a bad effect in exasperating the 
men, as we had no immediate apprehension of an outbreak. It 
was agreed to defer the departure of the ladies for a day, to 
give time to consider the matter, and to sound the troops. 

Next morning, Mrs. Mills, wife of Major Mills, of the 
Artillery, determined to join our party, and came to Captain 
Thurburn’s house in the city, but afterwards changed her mind 
and returned. All the other ladies, having some distrust of 
Maun Sing, decided on remaining in cantonments. 

Arrangements were thus made to send our— i. e., the civil 
officers’—families to Shahgunj on the night of the 7th ; and in 
the evening I rode down to cantonments to communicate our 
plans to the officers, and to ask their final resolution. All de¬ 
clared they would retain their families in cantonments, except 
Captain Dawson, executive engineer, who, with his wife and 
four children, accompanied me home. They, with their families 
went off, as arranged, during the night, and reached Shahgunj 
in safety. 

On the morning of the 8th, Corporal Hurst, of the Sappers, 
with his wife and child, and all the staff sergeants’ wives and 


108 


NARRATIVE OF 


children, came to my house, and I sent them also off to Shah- 
gunj, under escort of a party of trusty zemindars. 

The crisis was now rapidly approaching; the district was full 
of mutineers from Azimghur, Benares, and Jaunpore; their 
emissaries reached the lines in the forenoon, and called on the 
troops to declare for them. I was told they had previously 
received a perwana from the King of Delhi, setting forth that 
he had possession of the whole country, and summoning them 
to join his standard. On that day, 8th June, I wrote my last 
report to Lucknow, stating that I had no hope that the out¬ 
break could be staved off any longer. 

During the day, I issued a month’s pay to the zemindaree 
levies, about 400 strong, and about 100 native pensioners, and 
sent 14,000 rupees to Shahgunj ; I also had the most valuable 
records secreted in the Waseeka buildings, a walled enclosure 
occupied by female relatives of the ex-king, subsisting on the 
interest of money invested in government papers, the safest 
and most convenient place I could think of at the time. 

Colonel Goldney, commissioner and superintendent, remained 
in the city throughout the 8th, but in the evening returned to 
the lines of the 22nd Regiment Native Infantry, which he had 
formerly commanded, and I never saw him again. 

The troops broke out in open mutiny on the night of the 
8th June. They did not go through the form of pretending a 
grievance, but said they were strong enough to turn us out of 
the country, and intended to do it. The 15th Irregular Cavalry, 
particularly the rissaldar in command, left no means untried 
to induce the other regiments to murder their officers; but the 
Artillery, 22nd Native Infantry, and 6th Local Infantry, not 
only refused to injure the Europeans, but even gave them 
money, and assisted them in procuring boats to proceed down 
the Ghogra. 

The following officers embarked in four boats, and dropped 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


109 


down the river on the 9th, a little before sunrise. (Vide 
detailed account of Sergeant Busher.) 

In No. 1 Boat. 

Colonel Goldney, Commissioner of Fyzabad. 

Lieutenant Currie, Artillery. 

Lieutenant Cautley, 22nd Native Infantry. 

Ensign Bitchie, 22nd Native Infantry. 

Lieutenant Parsons, 6th Oude Local Infantry. 
'Sergeant-Major Matthews, 6th Oude Local Infantry. 
Sergeant Edwards, Artillery. 

Sergeant Busher, Artillery. 

No. 2 Boat. 

Major Mills, Commanding Artillery. 

Lieutenant and Adjutant Bright, 22nd Native Infantry. 
Mrs. Hollum. 

Quartermaster-Sergeant Bussel, 22nd Native Infantry. 
Bugler Williamson, Artillery. 

No. 3 Boat. 

Colonel O’Brien, Commanding 6th Oude Local Infantry. 
Lieutenant Gordon, 2nd in command, 6th Oude Local Inf. 
Assistant-Surgeon Collison, 6th Oude Local Infantry. 
Lieutenant Anderson, 22nd Native Infantry. 

Lieutenant Percivall, Artillery. 

No. 4 Boat. 

Lieutenant English, 22nd Native Infantry. 

Lieutenant Lindesay, 22nd Native Infantry. 

Lieutenant Thomas, 22nd Native Infantry. 

The officers in No. 3 boat all reached Dinapore, though not 
without encountering great danger and difficulties. Of those 


110 


NARRATIVE OF 


who embarked on Nos. 1, 2, and 4, Sergeant Busher alone 
escaped. Colonel Goldney, Lieutenant Bright, Sergeant-Major 
Hollum, Quartermaster-Sergeant Russel, were all murdered 
by the 17th Native Infantry mutineers. Major Mills, Lieu¬ 
tenant Currie, and Lieutenant Parsons, were drowned. Lieu¬ 
tenants English, Lindesay, Cautley, and Thomas, and Ensign 
Ritchie and Sergeant Edwards, Artillery, were murdered by 
the villagers of Mahadubbur, in Goruckpore. 

Colonel Lennox, with his wife and daughter, left Fyzabad, 
by boat, some hours after the others, and succeeded in reaching 
Goruckpore in safety : he has published an account of his 
adventures. 

On a sixth boat embarked Captain Morgan, 22nd Native 
Infantry, and his wife and child ; Lieutenants Fowle and 
Ouseley, and Assistant-Surgeon Daniel, of the 22nd Native 
Infantry. They suffered great hardships and privations; were 
plundered and maltreated on their voyage down the river. 
They all, however, eventually reached Gopalpore, and thence 
escaped to Chupra. 

Mrs. Mills, with three children, attempted to conceal herself, 
I believe, in the city of Fyzabad, in the house of a havildar of 
the battery; but, as he refused to supply her with food, she 
was obliged to disclose herself to the leader of the mutineers, 
who gave her some money, and sent her across the Ghogra 
into the Goruckpore district. Here she is said to have wan¬ 
dered for eight or ten days from village to village. She 
appears to have received no assistance whatever from the 
police, who might easily have either sent her into Goruckpore, 
or have given information to the magistrate there. Mrs. Mills 
was a very delicate lady, and her sufferings must have been 
terrible. Her youngest child died from the exposure. At last 
Rajah Maun Sing, hearing there was an English lady in dis¬ 
tress, sent for her, provided for her wants, and, after a few 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


Ill 


days’ rest, sent her with the European sergeants’ wives into 
Goruckpore. 

The mutineers of Fyzabad first plundered about two lakhs 
and 20,000 rupees of treasure, and then followed the usual 
practice of releasing the prisoners in gaol. Among them was 
Sikunder Shah, a fanatic moulvie, who had endeavoured to 
excite rebellion in the city of Fyzabad in February, and who 
had been captured by a party of the 22nd Native Infantry, 
under Lieutenant Thomas. This officer and some sepoys were 
wounded on the occasion, and some of the moulvie’s followers 
were killed, and himself and others wounded. This moulvie 
was chosen by the mutineers as their leader : he is even now a 
man of some note among the rebels.* The ringleaders of the 
mutiny were the rissaldar of the 5th Troop 15th Irregular 
Cavalry, and Duleep Sing, subadar of the 22nd Native In¬ 
fantry, a Chowhan Rajpoot, of Burragaon, in the Fyzabad 
district. 1 have heard from different quarters that the ris¬ 
saldar was killed at Lucknow while leading one of the attacks 
on the Residency. 

All the civil officers dined at Captain Thurburn’s on the 
evening of the 8th. After dinner, Mr. Bradford returned to 
the kutcherry in the belief—which the result proved well 
founded—that the men of the 22nd Native Infantry, on trea¬ 
sure guard, would protect him. Captains Orr and Thurburn 
spent the night at my house in the city. 

During the night, the guards on duty in the city left their 
posts; towards morning various alarming reports were brought 
in, and I sent Mr. Bradford a note (which never reached him) 
requesting him to join us immediately. The city is a mile and 
a half from cantonments. All communication had been cut 
off, hut we suspected what had happened, and our suspicions 

* Note by Captain Hutchinson: — “This moulvie was lately 
killed near Mitholee, on the Shahjehanpore frontier. 5 ’ 


112 


NARRATIVE OE 


were soon confirmed. A little after sunrise the mutineers— 
artillery, cavalry, and infantry—moved down upon the city; 
and, as we had no means of resistance, we were compelled to 
seek safety in flight. 

As we rode off, I gave out that we were going to Shahgunj, 
and such was our original intention; but a little reflection con¬ 
vinced me that, with so many sowars thirsting for blood, it 
would be dangerous to attempt a road where we were certain 
to be pursued, if not, indeed, forestalled. 

As soon, therefore, as we got out of sight, I turned off in 
another direction, and, after riding twelve miles, we entered a 
village called Goura, of which I knew the zemindars well. We 
were very kindly received, and, having sent intelligence of our 
safety to Shahgunj, we remained here till dark, when, as so 
many people had seen us approaching Goura, they thought it 
advisable to remove us to a solitary building two miles off, 
occupied by a pundit, a very fine old man, who had agreed to 
take us in. 

While here, a sepoy of my regiment (late 37th) passed by 
and told the pundit that the native troops at Benares had been 
disarmed, and then massacred by artillery and a regiment of 
European infantry; that, afterwards, the Rajah of Benares, 
who was in league with the native troops, had come with a 
great host and killed every European in the place. The pun¬ 
dit repeated this to us, but, on being questioned, admitted that 
the sepoy appeared to have come in a great hurry; that he 
had no money, only his musket and regimental pantaloons, and 
was altogether in a miserable plight. This fully convinced us 
that the sepoy’s story was false; but we failed to persuade the 
pundit that, had his ally won the day, the sepoy would not 
have beat so rapid a retreat or have come away empty-handed; 
neither could we undeceive him regarding the disarming and 
massacring at Benares. 


EVENTS IN OXIDE. 


113 


The disarming and massacring story, which was industriously 
promulgated all over the country, was almost universally be¬ 
lieved, and may have had most injurious effect. A native, in 
whom I placed considerable reliance, assured me that it was 
the immediate cause of the mutiny and cruel murders at Allah¬ 
abad. The news of the capture by the mutineers of the fort 
of Allahabad was also circulated through Oude, and even we 
believed it for a time. 

On the night of the 10th, the zemindars of Goura, who were 
most friendly and forward in their offers of assistance, came 
and escorted us, partly disguised, to Shahgunj. I would 
earnestly solicit that a suitable reward be granted to the pun¬ 
dit above mentioned, and to Baireesal and Juskura Sing, lum- 
berdars of Goura, for their good service, which was the more 
meritorious, as they all shared in the common belief that our 
expulsion was final. The pundit even went so far as to predict 
that we should be succeeded by a “ king from the west.” 

At Shahgunj we found Mr. Bradford, who had escaped from 
the city with some difficulty, owing, he believed, to the attempts 
of the criminal and revenue serishtadar to cause his destruc¬ 
tion, and had reached Shahgunj on the 9th in disguise on foot, 
having been unable to get to the horse I had left for him. 
Subsequent information proved that the criminal serishtadar 
was not implicated in the attempt on Mr. Bradford. 

The officiating head clerk, Mr. Martindell, with his son 
and two daughters, took refuge in the Waseeka buildings. 
Every one supposed the mutineers would respect these 
buildings, as females of the royal family resided in them; 
however, they were broken into, and all the money carried off, 
though I have been told it was afterwards returned. They 
robbed Mr. Martindell, and took him and his family prisoners. 
Of their fate I am quite uncertain, but fear the worst. As far 
as I know, they were not murdered at Fyzabad. 


8 


114 


NARRATIVE OF 


We had calculated on remaining at Shahgunj, as Maun Sing 
assured us he had no immediate apprehension of attacks, and 
that, during the rainy season, just about to set in, the fort, 
surrounded by low ground, was almost unapproachable. 

The very morning, however, after our arrival, Maun Sing, 
who was at Adjoodheea, sent to say that the mutineers had 
promised not to molest the women and children, but insisted 
on his delivering up all the officers ; and that, as he was not 
prepared to resist, and they threatened to search the fort the 
next day, we must prepare for instant departure, and that we 
should start, as soon as it was dark, for a ghaut on the Ghogra, 
where he would have boats waiting for us. 

In the evening, I distributed a thousand rupees among the 
officers of the party; and, the arrangements having been com¬ 
pleted, we got off a boat at 11 p.m., escorted by a party of 
doalbunds, and travelled across country as rapidly as possible, 
hoping to embark before daybreak; but the wheeled vehicles 
were much delayed by the difficulties of the route, and morning 
dawned long before we had reached the river. 

Our situation was now very critical. With such a numerous 
party concealment was out of the question, and we were in 
broad daylight within seven or eight miles of Fyzabad, which 
was swarming with mutinous sowars, who, we knew, would 
have been only too glad of an opportunity to murder every one 
of us. 

As we approached the river, a false alarm was given, and one 
or two shots were fired, which increased our uneasiness, but we 
reached the boats without any opposition; there we were 
greatly distressed to find that the carriage with the staff-ser¬ 
geants’ wives and children had broken down close to Shahgunj, 
and they had been obliged to return to the fort. 

To have waited and sent back for them would most un¬ 
doubtedly have occasioned the destruction of the whole party; 

/ 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


115 


we believed, too, that our departure, which must become known 
to the troops in two or three hours, would prevent the threat¬ 
ened search of Shahgunj. After, therefore, repeatedly exacting 
from Maun Sing’s karinda the most solemn promises (which 
were faithfully kept) that they should be protected, we em¬ 
barked and pushed off. 

The party consisted of the following persons:—Captain Keid, 
deputy commissioner, wife and two children; Captain Orr, 
assistant commissioner, wife and five children, and sister-in- 
law; Captain Thurburn, special assistant commissioner, wife 
and child; Mr. Bradford, extra assistant commissioner, and 
wife ; Captain Dawson, executive engineer, wife and four chil¬ 
dren; Corporal Hurst, Sappers, wife and child; Mr. Fitz¬ 
gerald, Nazool writer, wife and child—twenty-nine in all. 

We were accompanied by a karinda of Maun Sing’s and 
thirty doalbunds, who were never of the slightest use, but 
invariably disappeared on the slightest approach of danger. 

The prevailing wind of the season is easterly, but fortunately 
on that day it was from the west, and we made rapid progress 
on our downward voyage. We kept out of sight as far as 
possible, and beyond occasional challenges from villages on the 
banks, no notice was taken of us till about midnight, when a 
boat came off with four or five armed men, making a great 
noise and uttering threats. Some of our party, who were 
nearest, were going to shoot these men, but I called out not to 
fire unless they attempted to come on board. They changed 
their tone as soon as they saw who we were, and asked for two 
or three rupees, w hich we gave, and they went off. 

We proceeded without further molestation for two or three 
hours, when another boat came off, and the karinda went to 
meet it, all of us remaining concealed: he told us the men in 
the boat were retainers of Baboo Madhopershad of Birhur, 
who was a friend of Maun Sing, and for whom he had 

8—2 


116 


NARRATIVE OF 


brought a letter recommending us to his care. We were not 
altogether satisfied, but did not oppose his taking our boat to 
the bank, in compliance with their request, at a fort called 
Nouruhnee. 

On looking out, I saw there were two forts, thirty or forty 
yards distant, and that we were moored between them, right 
under the fire of both. Still, though uneasy, we did not be¬ 
come alarmed, till not only the karinda and his doalbunds 
walked off, but the boatmen, each with his little bundle, 
followed their example. 

Shortly after, several armed men approached very close. I 
went out and spoke to them, threatening them with the anger 
of Maun Sing and Madhopershad if they molested us; but they 
paid very little heed to my threats; their numbers continued to 
increase, and their demeanour to become more and more violent, 
till we had every reason to fear the worst. We were evidently 
in extreme danger; and, as a last resource, Captain Orr and I 
went into one of the forts to see the leader of the ruffians, 
Ooditnarayun. I tried to frighten him, but at once saw the 
attempt was fruitless : he said he did not wish to murder us, 
but must have our arms, money, and valuables. 

Two of our party had guns, and most of us had revolvers, 
without the means of reloading them; but, situated as we were, 
with eight ladies and fourteen children in an unwieldy boat 
quite immoveable, owing to the absence of the boatmen, and 
the head wind then blowing, and immediately under the fire of 
the two forts, resistance was hopeless, and we had no alter¬ 
native but to accept the conditions, hard as they were. The 
robbers showed so much respect for us, that they did not 
attempt to enter the boat, but took the things as they were 
handed out to them. 

Our boatmen now returned, and we attempted to proceed, but 
the head wind was so strong, that the boat was quite unmanage- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


117 


able ; and, after whirling round once or twice, stuck fast. "VVe 
spent there a most miserable day, feeling by no means safe from 
attack, and the sufferings of the ladies and children aggravated 
by the pangs of hunger. 

About midday, a sepoy of my late regiment came to the boat. 
He affirmed he had been on leave when the corps mutinied; if 
not, he must have gone to his home immediately after. He 
appeared to be much affected, and said he would go and fetch 
Madhopershad, the baboo above referred to. 

The sepoy never returned, but at sunset Madhopershad 
made his appearance, and promised to do everything in his 
power for us. He also sent us food, which was very accept¬ 
able. The wind having now somewhat abated, we started, 
but towards morning moored again, having made very little 
progress. A large party of sepoys with their arms passed us 
here in a fast boat. Our boatmen and theirs interchanged 
inquiries, but they appeared not to know who we were, and 
pulled steadily on. The sepoys were said to be bound for 
Azimghur. 

After some hours’ halt, we went on to a considerable village 
called Chihora, belonging to Madhopershad, where we remained 
five or six days, till we could make arrangements with some of 
his clan farther down the river, with whom he was at feud, for 
our proceeding unmolested. 

We were quartered here in a sunken fort, in which was a 
small shed with a very thin thatched roof. The heat was 
most trying, and most of the ladies and all of the children 
were attacked by ophthalmia, from which their sufferings, 
which we had no means of alleviating, were most acute and 
protracted. 

Our departure was put off from day to day, and it was not 
till the 19th June that we started for Gopalpore, which we 
reached, without further adventure, by midday of the 21st. 


118 


NARRATIVE OF 


The marked loyalty of the Rajah of Gopalpore, as well as 
the aid which he rendered to several parties of fugitives, are 
well known to Government. We were here comparatively safe, 
and made our way by water, without difficulty, to Dinapore, 
where we arrived on the 29th June. 

The following account by Sergeant-Major Busher 
will be read with much interest:— 

On the morning of the 8th of June, news was brought into 
the station that the 17th Regiment Native Infantry, muti¬ 
neers of Azimghur, were encamped a day’s journey from 
Fyzabad, and intended marching into the station the following 
morning. 

I received orders from Major Mills, commanding the battery, 
to send my family without delay to Shahgunj, and leave them 
under the protection of Rajah Maun Sing of that place. I 
accordingly did so, sending along with them the families of four 
other non-commissioned officers. In the evening, by order of 
Colonel Lennox, commanding the station, two companies of the 
22nd Native Infantry were ordered to support our guns and to 
take up their position, one on either side of the battery, or a 
company on each flank: this they did. The officers and men, 
both Europeans and natives, remained with their guns all ready 
for action, when about 11 o’clock p.m. the alarm was sounded 
in the lines of the 6th Oude Irregular Infantry; on hearing 
which, the golundaz, or native artillerymen, immediately 
loaded their guns with grape. Whilst the port-firemen were in 
the act of lighting their port-fires, two companies of the 22nd 
Regiment that were placed on either side of the guns, rushed 
in, with loaded muskets in hand, amongst the artillery, and 
pointed them at the heads of the golundaz. Colonel Lennox, 
and the other officers of the 22nd Regiment, were on the spot 



EVENTS IN OUDE. 


119 


almost immediately after the occurrence, and tried by every 
persuasion to get their men from the guns, but to no purpose. 
About this time, the whole of the 22nd Regiment left their 
lines and advanced towards our position, shouting. On coming 
up, they ordered us (the Europeans) to quit the place, and said 
the guns were no longer ours, but theirs. We were then 
escorted by a portion of the 22nd to the quarter guard of that 
regiment, and kept there under restraint till the following 
morning, when at break of day we were escorted to the river 
side, and directed to enter some boats that had been provided 
for us by the insurgents, and proceed down the river. 

Whilst at the ghaut, intelligence was brought to our escort 
that the mutineers were helping themselves to the treasure. 
This caused the escort to hasten back to the lines as quickly 
as possible. Here I will take the liberty to mention that the 
rissaldar of the 5th Troop 15th Irregular Cavalry appeared to 
be the moving man in the mutiny, and undertook the general 
direction of affairs. 

When the escort left us, we took to the boats—four in 
number—but found them without boatmen. However, as 
there was no time to proceed in search of boatmen, it was 
resolved that the boats should be manned by ourselves; so 
we got in, and, as far as my memory serves me, in the 
following order:— 

In No. 1, or the First Boat. 

1. Colonel Goldney, Commissioner. 

2. Lieutenant Currie, Artillery. 

3. Lieutenant Cautley, 22nd Regiment Native Infantry. 

4. Lieutenant Ritchie, 22nd Regiment Native Infantry. 

5. Lieutenant Parsons, 6 th Oude Irregular Infantry. 

6. Sergeant-Major Matthews, 6th Oude Irregular Infantry. 

7. Sergeant Edwards, 13th Light Field Battery. 

8. Sergeant Busher, 13th Light Field Battery. 


120 


NARRATIVE OF 


In No. 2, or Second Boat. 

1. Major Mill, Commanding 13th Light Field Battery. 

2. Adjutant Bright, 22nd Regiment Native Infantry. 

3. Sergeant-Major Hulme, 22nd Regiment Nativelnfantry. 

4. Mrs. Hulme. 

5. Quartermaster-Sergeant Russel, 22nd Regiment Native 
Infantry. 

6. Bugler Williamson, 13th Light Field Battery. 

In No. 3, or Third Boat. 

1. Colonel O’Brien, 6th Oude Irregular Infantry. 

2. Captain Gordon, 6th Oude Irregular Infantry. 

3. Assistant-Surgeon Collison, 6th Oude Irregular Infantry. 

4. Lieutenant Anderson, 22nd Regiment Native Infantry. 

5. Lieutenant Percivall, 13th Light Field Battery. 

In No. 4, or Fourth Boat. 

1. Lieutenant Thomas, 22nd Regiment Native Infantry. 

2. Lieutenant Lindesay, 22nd Regiment Native Infantry. 

3. Lieutenant English, 22nd Regiment Native Infantry. 

In the above order, we dropped down the river, on the 9th, 
a little before sunrise. Whilst dropping down, a sepoy of the 
22nd Regiment, Teg Ally Khan, who had not joined the 
mutineers, was observed following in a canoe. He hailed, 
and requested to be taken with the party. He was accordingly 
taken in No. 1 boat. An hour or so after he was taken up, he 
made himself useful in procuring boatmen for Nos. 1 and 2 
boats, near a village. 

After a little delay, which proceeded from getting boatmen, 
we again proceeded, and in a short time, N os. 1 and 2 passed 
the town of Adjoodheea. This was between 8 and 9 a.m. Boat 
No. 3 was observed to put in at Adjoodheea, and No. 4 was 
lost sight of, having dropped far astern. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


121 


Nos. 1 and 2, proceeded on, and, after leaving Adjoodheea 
about three miles in rear, put to, to await the arrival of Nos. 3 
and 4. After waiting two hours, and seeing no signs of the 
boats coming, we again proceeded on for about nine coss, or 
eighteen miles, down stream, when we observed what appeared 
to us to be scouts running along the right bank of the river, 
and giving notice of our approach. We then suspected all was 
not right, that we had been duped, and purposely led into 
danger. On proceeding a little farther, we distinctly observed 
a regiment of mounted cavalry, and another of native infantry, 
in a body, at the narrowest part of the stream, awaiting our 
approach. We had no alternative but to proceed. When 
Nos. 1 and 2 boats arrived opposite to them, they opened a 
brisk fire on us. Sergeant Matthews, who was one of the 
rowers, was the first who fell, a ball having struck him at the 
back of his head ; another ball struck my hat and knocked it 
into the stream, I myself sustaining no injury. Those in No. 2 
boat, about 100 yards behind, seeing our hazardous situation, 
put their boats to at a sand-bank entirely surrounded by water. 
We, in No. 1 boat, then put to also and went ashore, when 
Colonel Goldney requested us to lay down our arms, and wait 
to see if we could come to terms with the mutineers, they direct¬ 
ing their fire on us, Nos. 1 and 2, the whole time. Some boats 
with mutineers pushed off from the opposite shore and came 
towards us ; when about the centre of the stream, they opened 
fire. Colonel Goldney, observing this, directed that those who 
could run, should, without any further loss of time, endeavour 
to escape, remarking that there was not even the shadow of a 
chance of our meeting with mercy at their hands, and at the 
same time added that he was too old himself to run. We 
now, seven in number, including Teg Ally Khan, took Colonel 
Goldney’s advice, and gave leg bail, taking a direction across 
the country. I may here mention that from this period we 


122 


NARRATIVE OF 


remained in ignorance of the fate of Colonel Goldney and those 
of No. 2 boat. We now started and continued running, but 
did not do so long before meeting with an obstacle which pre¬ 
cluded our further advance in the direction we marked out, 
and this was the junction of two streams of considerable width. 
Whilst at a standstill, and deliberating as to our future 
course, we saw a number of men coming towards us, whom 
we took for sepoys. All but Teg Ally Khan and Sergeant 
Edwards jumped into the stream and thought to escape by 
swimming to the opposite bank. After swimming a short dis¬ 
tance, Teg Ally called out and told us to return, as they were 
only villagers. I, Lieutenant Ritchie, and Lieutenant Cautley 
returned, but Lieutenant Currie and Lieutenant Parsons got 
too far into the stream, and, in endeavouring to return were 
both, I regret to say, drowned. I myself narrowly escaped, 
having twice gone down, but, through the timely aid of one of 
the villagers, was safely got out. We had no sooner got out 
of the water, than we were again alarmed at seeing a boat full 
of people rounding a point, and thought they too were sepoys. 
We now ran and continued our course along the bank, not 
missing sight of the stream, until we were fairly exhausted. 
We then entered a patch of high grass growing at the river¬ 
side, or at a short distance from it, and rested ourselves. We 
missed Teg Ally Khan at this time. Whilst in our place of 
concealment, a boy herding cattle caught sight of us and ran 
towards the river, and with his herd crossed over, himself 
holding on by a buffalo’s tail. On crossing over, it appeared, 
he informed the jemadar of the village of our situation; for, 
shortly after, the jemadar came down and called out to us, and 
told us not to be alarmed, and that he would bring a boat for 
us. This he did, and, on reaching his side of the river, he 
informed us that Teg Ally Khan had reported all particulars 
to him, and requested that a party might be sent in search of us, 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


123 


and that the boy who had been herding cattle brought him in¬ 
formation of where we were. This jemadar very kindly took 
us to his hut, and entertained us as hospitably as he could, 
supplying us with provisions and cots to lie on; we remained 
under his protection till twelve o’clock, and, as we had the 
light of the moon, we commenced our journey and took the 
road for Amorah, the jemadar himself accompanying us to the 
next village; a little before entering which, we were sur¬ 
rounded by a party of freebooters, who demanded money. We 
told them we had none ; but this did not serve them, and they 
satisfied themselves by searching our persons. When satisfied 
we possessed nothing, they offered no molestation, but allowed us 
to prosecute our journey. On entering the village, the jemadar 
who accompanied us made us over to a chowkedar, and directed 
him to take us to the next village, and make us over to the 
chowkedar of it; and thus we proceeded on from village to 
village, till we arrived at Amorah. Here we were rejoiced to 
meet the party that belonged to No. 4 boat, who told us that, 
as they could not get their boat along, they deserted her and 
proceeded across country. We were glad to find these gen¬ 
tlemen had arms, for we, who had joined them, had not even a 
stick. I must not forget to mention that Teg Ally Khan again 
formed one of our party, for we lost sight of him before cross¬ 
ing the river, where we experienced the kind treatment at the 
village jemadar’s hands. We did not remain more than a few 
minutes at Amorah, as we were anxious to renew our journey. 
The tuhseeldar, who at this place gave us protection, further 
aided us by giving each a couple of rupees, and one pony to 
Lieutenant Ritchie, and another to Lieutenant Cautley, for the 
journey. We again started (now at 7 a.m. of the 10th), taking 
the road to Captain Gunje, under the guidance of a couple of 
thannah burkundazes. 

We reached Captain Gunje safely, and inquired at the tuhseel- 


124 


NARRATIVE OF 


daree if there were any European residents at Bhustee, a place 
of some note, and were informed by the jemadar that there 
were not, but were told that he had received information that a 
party of the 17th Native Infantry, with treasure, had marched 
from Goruckpore en route to Fyzabad, and had halted at 
Bhustee, and advised us not to take the road to Bhustee, but to 
go to Gye ghaut, where he said we should meet with protection, 
and get boats to take us to Dinapore. The jemadar furnished 
us with five tattoos and fifty rupees, and put us under the pro¬ 
tection of three burkundazes, giving them directions to proceed 
with us to Gye ghaut. We accordingly started, and after 
making about eight miles, sighted a village (Mohadubbah) 
which one of the burkundazes invited us to go to, telling us 
that we could rest ourselves there for a short time, and that he 
would refresh us with sherbet; we agreed, and this burkundaze 
who gave the invitation started off ahead, with the pretence 
of getting ready a place of accommodation and the sherbet. 
Nothing doubting that all was right, we proceeded on, as we 
thought in perfect safety. On nearing the village, the bur¬ 
kundaze again joined us, and had some conversation apart with 
the other two men. On our reaching it we observed, to our 
horror, that the whole village was armed; however, we made 
no remark, but passed on through it under the guidance of the 
three burkundazes. On getting to the end of it, we had to 
cross a nullah waist deep in the water; whilst crossing this, the 
villagers rushed upon us, tulwar and matchlock in hand. 
Seeing that they were bent on our destruction, we pushed 
through the water as quickly as possible, not, however, without 
leaving one of our number behind, who unfortunately was the 
last, and him (Lieutenant Lindesay) they cut to pieces. On 
reaching the opposite bank the villagers made a furious attack 
on us, literally butchering five of our party. 

I and Lieutenant Cautley then ran, and most of the mob in 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


125 


full chase after us. Lieutenant Cautley, after running about 
300 yards, declared he could run no longer, and stopped; on 
the mob reaching him, he also was cut to pieces. After de¬ 
spatching poor Lieutenant Cautley, they continued the chase 
after me, but after running a short distance, and finding that I 
was a long way off, they desisted. I was now the only one 
left, not having even Teg Ally Khan with me. I proceeded, 
and in a short time came to a village, and the first I met was a 
Brahmin, of whom I begged a drink of water, telling him I was 
exhausted. He asked me where I came from, and what had 
happened to me. I told my tale as quickly as I could, and 
he appeared to compassionate my case. He assured me that no 
harm would come to me in his village, and that, as the villagers 
were all Brahmins, others would not dare to enter it to do me 
harm. He then directed me to be seated under a shady tree in 
the village, and left me; after a short absence he returned, 
bringing with him a large bowl of sherbet; this I drank 
greedily, and was hardly done, when he started up and bid me 
run for my life, as Baboo Bully Sing was approaching the vil¬ 
lage. I got up and attempted to run, but found I could not, so 
walked. I tried to get to some hiding-place: in going through 
a lane I met an old woman, and she pointed out an empty hut, 
and bid me run into it; I did so, and finding in it a quantity of 
straw, I laid down and thought to conceal myself in it. I was 
not long there, when some of Bully Sing’s men entered and 
commenced a search, and used their lances and tulwars in 
probing into the straw; of course it was not long before I was 
discovered. I was dragged out by the hair of my head, and 
exhibited to the view of the natives who had congregated round 
him, when all sorts of abusive epithets were applied to me; and 
then commenced a march, leading me from village to village, 
exhibiting me, and the rabble at my heels hooting and abusing 
me. After passing through each, his men used to stop and tell 


126 


NARRATIVE OF 


me to kneel, and then ask Bully Sing if they were to decapitate 
me. His usual reply was, “Not yet; take him on to the next 
village.” I was led into the court-yard and put in the stocks; 
this was about nightfall. During the night I heard angry 
words pass between Bully Sing and his brother; I could not 
exactly make out the particulars, but I remember his brother 
telling him to beware of what he was doing, and that his acts 
of the day would, perhaps, recoil upon himself. However, the 
result of the quarrel proved every way beneficial to me, for 
about three o’clock in the morning Bully Sing came to me him¬ 
self, and directed my release from the stocks, and asked me if I 
should not like to have something to eat and drink, and his 
bearing towards me was entirely changed, and wholly different 
from what it had been. 

The following morning a party made their appearance, 
headed by a villain, named Jaffir Ally, whom I recognized as 
the person who shot poor Lieutenant Ritchie the previous day, 
and who fired at me. Of this he made a boast at Bully Sing’s 
when he saw me, and asked Bully Sing to make me over to 
him, and that he would burn me alive. He was told in reply, 
that I should be delivered over to no person, and to quit the 
place. This rascal then said my kismut was very good. I 
remained at Bully Sing’s ten days, during which time I had 
no reason to complain of the treatment received; but this I 
mainly attribute to the interference of his brother in my 
behalf. 

On the tenth day, a Mr. Peppy sent a darogha, with an 
elephant and an escort, to take me to him. I was glad of 
the opportunity, and willingly accompanied the party; but it 
was not without some trouble, and a good deal of persuasion, 
that the darogha induced Bully Sing to let me go. Anterior 
to this, a Mr. Cook, indigo planter, and Mr. Paterson, collector 
of Goruckpore, made several attempts to get me away from 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


127 


Bully Sing, but to no purpose. I here offer my best and 
grateful acknowledgments to all three gentlemen for their 
kind consideration and endeavours on my behalf. On joining 
Mr. Peppy, I proceeded with him to Captain Gunje, and there, 
to my joy, I met Colonel Lennox and his family. Here we 
remained for the remainder of the day and night. The next 
morning, I accompanied Colonel Lennox to Bhustee, escorted 
by a party of sowars; here we were most hospitably enter¬ 
tained by Mr. Osburne, of the opium department. I shall 
not soon forget this gentleman’s kindness, nor that of Colonel 
Lennox to me, and here offer to both my hearty and sincere 
thanks. 

At Bhustee, we were joined by Teg Ally Khan, who managed 
to effect his escape from the onslaught at Mohadubbah. At 
Bhustee, we halted two days, and in the evening proceeded 
to Goruckpore, thence to Azimghur, and from Azimghur to 
Ghazeepore, without anything further of note occurring. At 
this station I arrived on the morning of the 26th June, 
thankful to Providence for bringing me safely through all 
my difficulties. 

Next on the list is the mutiny at Selone, on the 
9th of June, which is described as follows by Major 
Barrow, formerly deputy commissioner of that dis¬ 
trict :— 

Up to the 1st June, the district was not much affected by the 
mutinies, and judging by the collections which were then going 
on for the rubbee kists, the talookdars and large zemindars 
had at this time no intention whatever of joining in rebellion, 
for without exception they paid up. 

On the morning of the 8th June, I received positive intel¬ 
ligence from the deputy commissioner, Sultanpore, that muti- 


128 


NARRATIVE OF 


nous troops were marching on Selone, Sultanpore, and Fyzabad. 
Probably these reports were made to the deputy commissioner 
to cause a panic, for on the same day the troops at that station 
mutinied. I attached no importance to this or other reports 
which were constantly being made, evidently with a view to 
get rid of us. 

On the night of the 8th, Captain Thompson’s regiment, the 
1st Oude, requested permission to have their arms with them 
in case of an attack. 

On the morning of the 9th, reports were made to me that 
both the Sultanpore and Fyzabad regiments had mutinied. A 
troop of Captain Harding’s rissalah arrived at Selone without 
any orders. The rissaldar stated that the Sultanpore officers 
had fled through Pertabghur, and that place being abandoned, he 
had come to Selone. I discovered that some of his party had 
been engaged in the plunder at Purtabghur, and that others 
were fugitive sowars from Allahabad, where a portion of the 
regiment was stationed. 

During the day, whilst at kutcherry, for the usual appear¬ 
ances were still kept up, and I had every confidence in the 
1st Oude Regiment, several police fugitives and others arrived 
from Sultanpore and Purtabghur, two officers’ horses were 
brought in, and several gaol fugitives from Allahabad were 
caught on the 8th and 9th. 

About 1 p.m. of the 9th, some sowars came in and reported 
that the troops from Allahabad were en route , and another party 
intimated the troops from Sultanpore were at Attayah, about 
eight miles off: both reports no doubt were spread to create a 
panic. 

I proceeded to the officer commanding, who had already 
given orders for his regiment to turn out. I accompanied him 
to the parade, and sent off parties of sowars in the directions 
intimated. After about two hours, nothing further occurring, 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


129 


Captain Thompson ordered his men to pile arms. On being 
ordered to reassemble, they paid no attention. It was evident 
they intended to mutiny, but we took no notice whatever ; 
extra sentries were put on, and the men were still under some 
control. 

I paraded the troops of cavalry which had no European 
officer, and in reply to my address, they one and all declared 
they were faithful and would stand by me. The rissaldar 
privately told me, out of the eighty-five men, he could only 
depend on twenty. 

All the officers assembled this night at my house. My 
wife and two children were the only officer’s family present; 
there were the wives and children of two sergeants and one 
apothecary, besides the writers of my office. 

The night passed quietly. Early in the morning I proceeded 
round the station, and observed the men of the Oude regiment 
carrying off their property to the neighbouring villages. 

About 6 o’clock a.m., the guard of the gaol released the 
prisoners. Captain Thompson still thought he could bring his 
regiment round, and I determined to hold on as long as 
possible, but they clearly intimated at last that we had better 
leave; if we did not, they would not answer for our lives. No 
native officer even would now obey his call, and the regiment 
would furnish no guards for our protection. 

At 2 p.m. my house was surrounded by all the budmashes 
of the place, including several of my own police, Passees, &c., 
clamouring for pay; they crowded close round it and looked 
hostile. I got out where the sowars were stationed, and in¬ 
duced twenty of them to mount and come to my house, when 
throwing out a bag of rupees to get them away from the 
verandahs, into which they had pressed, the sowars rode in 
between them and the house and drove them off, so far 
behaving well. 


9 


130 


NARRATIVE OF 


Whilst this was going on, preparations were made for the 
whole party to leave. A few sepoys of the regiment stated 
they would escort us through the lines (our course laying 
through them), but that they could not undertake to do so at 
a later period. The men, as we passed through, were all outside 
with their arms in their hands; some were respectful, others 
loaded their muskets as we passed them. 

The sowars were on the right flank of the infantry, mounted, 
watching what was going on. 

I was followed from the station only by my gaoler, with 
some twenty men and a private of the 33rd Regiment, with 
some fifty new levies; but ten of all ranks accompanied Captain 
Thompson. My police sowars and every one had deserted, with 
the above exceptions. 

I had previously arranged with Humwunt Sing, of Kala 
Kunkur, that he should get together as many men as he could, 
and meet me the other side of the station; this he did, and 
escorted our whole party to his fort at Dharoopore, where 
we remained some fourteen days, when with the aid of other 
talookdars, the Thakorain of Bhudree and Sheodyal of 
Duheyaon, we succeeded in reaching Allahabad. 


Baraitch. 

Mr. Wingfield, tlie commissioner, thus describes 
the events at Baraitch:— 

An untoward event occurred on the night of the 8th June 
which may have precipitated, by a few days, the final outbreak. 
Since the departure of the ladies all the remaining officers slept 



EVENTS IN OUDE. 


131 


at my house, and four European sergeants kept watch by turns. 
About midnight we were awakened by two of the latter, who 
declared they had heard the men arming in the infantry lines, 
which were not above 250 yards from my house, and had even 
seen them forming up outside. They protested they had been 
close up to the lines; the night was very dark, and the view 
intercepted by trees. We could distinguish nothing, but be¬ 
lieving the sergeants, went over to the encampment of the 
artillery, brought out the guns, and turned them on the lines 
of the infantry. No advance was made from that direction, 
nor was any movement discernible there. At the expiration of 
half an hour we returned to the house. I believe it was a false 
alarm, but there are officers who hold the contrary. I cannot 
forbear observing that on this occasion the best spirit appeared 
to be evinced by the artillery. 

However that may be, it brought matters to a crisis. The 
sepoys declared we had tried to murder them in their sleep, 
and only been prevented by the refusal of the artillerymen to 
become the instruments of our cruelty. Heretofore there had 
been a coldness between the two arms, now they fraternized 
warmly. Captain Boileau sent for his native officers in the 
hope of explaining matters to them, but soon found he had lost 
all authority, and had to endure severe lectures and animad¬ 
versions on his conduct from some of them who affected to be 
the spokesmen of the sepoys. Finally they dictated their own 
terms, and a parade of the regiment was ordered for that 
evening. 

This took place in my house. Some old servants, who had 
been with me ever since I had been in India, had that day, and 
the previous one, told me that some of them had been warned 
to quit me, or they might lose their lives; and now Captain 
Boileau came and told me he no longer commanded the troops, 
and that he was going on parade in compliance with the inten- 

9—2 


132 


NARRATIVE OF 


tion he had expressed to that effect, hut did not expect to leave 
it alive. 

So evident was it for some time past that the troops were 
fast hurrying into revolt, that I would have left Seer ora, which 
was not a civil station, or my legitimate place of residence, for 
Gonda before, had not Captain Boileau urged me to remain, 
alleging that my departure would show want of confidence in 
them. I now saw that my remaining any longer would be im¬ 
periling my own life, and therefore, taking the advantage of the 
habit of an evening ride, mounted my horse and rode over to 
Gonda, distant eighteen miles, where the 3rd Oude Irregular 
Infantry apparently remained loyal. Sir H. Lawrence had 
previously written to Captain Boileau and myself in these 
words,—“ Should a mutiny break out, or appear inevitable, 
you are at liberty to consult your own safety.” It had broken 
out. The troops had thrown off all authority, and the question 
was, how long they would leave us alive. In the lines (for 
they refused to parade that evening), Captain Boileau and his 
adjutant were grossly insulted by their men, who broke open 
the magazine, and conducted themselves in the most insubordi¬ 
nate manner. But their lives were not attempted. During 
the night, however, the house in which they slept was sur¬ 
rounded by the soldiery, who used threatening gestures, and 
kept them close prisoners till the following morning, when, 
profiting by the interval between the departure of the night 
guard and the arrival of the relief, they mounted their horses 
and rode away to Gonda and Bulrampore. The artillery 
officer, Lieutenant Bonham, who had slept in his battery, re¬ 
mained till 9 a.m., when he was expelled by his own men; he 
then took the road to Lucknow, which he reached in safety. 

I will now describe the course of events at Gonda to the date 
of my arrival there. There, too, the attitude of the troops, 
consisting of the 3rd Oude Irregular Infantry, remained un- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


133 


altered, and the civil business went on as usual; no falling off 
in the number of petitioners and other attendants in the court 
was noticeable till the beginning of June, when it was manifest 
that confidence in our power was fast departing, and zemindars 
who had recovered their villages from talookdars at settlement, 
were writing to propitiate the latter, or making preparations 
for flight. The tuhseeldars had reported that the sepoys had 
been overheard to express their determination not to allow the 
treasure, which there had been some talk of sending to Luck¬ 
now, to be removed; but the officers would not believe this, 
and certainly the behaviour of the men was most exemplary to 
the eye. Though I did not believe it possible they could with¬ 
stand the force of example so close to them, still less soldiers 
who had lately served the king of Oude, I suffered Captain 
Mills to introduce his officers to me, when I told them what 
had occurred at Secrora, and listened to their professions of 
loyalty, and of determination to oppose the mutineers. I told 
them that the best proof of their loyalty would be to take the 
treasure and march with us to Bulrampore, or beyond the 
Raptee, for it was impossible they could oppose the Secrora 
mutineers, who, equally strong in infantry, had a horse field 
battery, and 150 cavalry besides. At first they agreed to this 
plan with seeming alacrity, but soon began to raise objec¬ 
tions. 

That night I passed at Gonda, as also the whole of the 10th. 
In the course of the day I received a hurried note from Lieu¬ 
tenant Bonham, to the effect that the troops at Secrora meant 
to march on Gonda, and force the regiment there to join them. 
We knew several letters had been received by the latter, and it 
soon became evident that no reliance was to be placed on this 
corps, and that it would do as its brethren in arms had done.* 

* Captain Hutchinson notes here that he ascertained from Lieu¬ 
tenant Bonham himself that he remained at Secrora with his two 


134 


NARRATIVE OF 


Having objected to the plan of going to Bulrampore, on some 
frivolous pretext, they said they would stay and fight the muti¬ 
neers, and when driven from that subterfuge, next said they 
would march into Lucknow with the treasure and European 
officers. 

Just at this time a letter came to us from Lieutenant Clarke, 
commanding a detachment of the regiment at Baraitch, show¬ 
ing the state of disaffection that prevailed in it; and news of 
the mutiny at Fyzabad and flight of the European officers on 
the previous day arrived also. I felt satisfied that to stay any 
longer was to court destruction unprofitably; and, therefore, 
gave the civil officers permission to leave, and about 10 p.m., 
in company with Mr. Owen, assistant commissioner, and two 
officers of the 2nd Oude Irregular Infantry, set out on horse¬ 
back for Bulrampore. Captain Mills and his adjutant thought 
themselves bound by a sense of duty to remain till their men 
openly renounced their authority, for, though determined to do 
only what pleased them, their attitude was as yet respectful, 
and Lieutenant E. Clarke, assistant commissioner, determined 
to stay with these officers. 

We reached Bulrampore without hindrance next morning 
the 11th, and not many hours afterwards were joined by the 
officers of the 3rd Regiment and Lieutenant Clarke. They had 
passed the night at Gonda, but at daybreak the havildar major 
showed them a letter from the Secrora mutineers to his corps, 
bidding it repair to Secrora with the treasure. He told them 
the regiment would join the rest, and urged them to make their 
escape while there was yet time. In this advice some of the 

artillery sergeants after the infantry had mutinied and driven away 
all their officers, and that he only left when the infantry, some 
hours afterwards, rushing on the guns, drove him away, his men 
protecting him as long as they could. Both he and his sergeants 
reached Lucknow safely, wonderful to relate. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


135 


native officers joined, and even escorted their European officers 
through the cantonment. 

At Bulrampore, Captain Boileau and all were most kindly 
and hospitably entertained by the Rajah, though it was not 
difficult to perceive our presence was not much liked by many 
of his followers. A letter was shortly afterwards received by 
him from the mutineers, desiring him to make over the treasure 
in the tuhseel; and the bearer, a sowar, reproached him with 
harbouring Europeans. It was evident our remaining there 
would bring him into trouble, and us into danger. There was 
no apparent prospect of the rains setting in; the mutineers 
could have marched with their guns in one night from Gonda, 
and the Rajah’s house was not fortified. Nor could his people 
be depended on to protect us at the risk of their own lives. 
We accordingly determined on leaving ; and, on the evening 
of the 12th, set out under escort of the Rajah and 500 of his 
men for Phoolpore, a place belonging to him, just within the 
borders of the Goruckpore district. At that time, we were 
uncertain whether Goruckpore was still in the hands of the 
British authorities; but our intention was, at all events, to 
proceed to Bansee, the Rajah of which place was a relative of 
the Rajah of Bulrampore; and there, if we found Goruckpore 
closed to us, to decide whether we should make for the Gunduck, 
and drop down that river to Patna, or seek an asylum in 
Nepaul. We halted this day at Phoolpore, and reached Bansee 
on the 14th. 

Here we learnt the real posture of affairs at Goruckpore, 
which was critical enough; but the authorities had full con¬ 
fidence in the Irregular Cavalry, and Captain Boileau and the 
officers decided on going there, and on to Ghazeepore and 
Benares. I resolved to wait for further news from my divi¬ 
sion, for none of the talookdars had yet shown any indication 
of revolt; and I thought it probable that the mutinous troops 


136 


NARRATIVE OF 


would all march towards Lucknow, when I might, with the aid 
of the well-affected rajahs, return and re-establish the British 
authority. Besides, all communication from other parts had 
ceased since the 8th, and I was ignorant how far mutiny had 
spread in our older provinces, and they were equally so, for the 
same reason, at Goruckpore. 

But a letter from the Rajah of Bulrampore soon showed 
me how useless it would be to return without British troops, 
and I therefore resolved to go on to Goruckpore, which I 
reached on the 26th. 


Baraitch. 

The daily bulletins of the deputy commissioner 
Mr. Cunliffe, represented that district as perfectly 
free from disorder or agitation* almost up to the 
very last communication that I received from him, 
which was dated the 7th or 8th. But he was alive 
to the impending danger, and had, as he fancied, 
secured himself and companions a safe retreat in 
Nanpara, that family having been treated with the 
greatest kindness by our officers, and been im¬ 
mensely benefited by the annexation. The Rajah 
was a minor under the Court of Wards, under the 
guardianship of his mother, and the agent and 
manager was one Kullun Khan, an old and trusted 
dependant of the family. 



EVENTS IN OUDE. 


137 


I counselled Mr. Cunliffe when the storm burst 
to seek the protection of Rajah Koolraj Sing, of 
Pudnaha, a hill Rajpoot with whom we had been 
intimate, but he trusted Kullun Khan, who had 
assured him a generous reception. 

I have already said Lieutenant Clarke had become 
aware of the disaffected spirit of his men, but I 
cannot learn they had broken out into open mutiny 
when the European gentlemen decided on quitting 
the station. On the 10th, the Hissampore tuhseel 
of the Baraitch district had been plundered by a 
detachment of sepoys from Secrora, and the gentle¬ 
men must have heard of it when they left, which they 
did on the night of the 11th, reaching Nanpara, 
which is distant not more than twenty-five miles, on 
the following morning. Futtehshah Khan, extra 
assistant commissioner, accompanied them; the third 
European was Mr. Jorden, extra assistant commis¬ 
sioner. 

There, instead of finding shelter, they met with 
the blackest treachery. They were denied even an 
hour’s repose and a little food by Kullun Khan, who 
pretended that the Rajah of Churda, who resided 
close by, was coming after them, and I have heard 
that it was in consequence of intelligence that Kullun 
Khan had laid an ambush for them on that road, that 


138 


NARRATIVE OF 


instead of proceeding onward to Pudnaha or into the 
Terai, where they would have been safe among the 
Tharroos, and could have entered into Nepaul at any 
time, they decided on returning to Baraitch, which 
they reached after nightfall. 

Then instead of proceeding to Bulrampore, where 
they knew I had repaired, and which they might 
have reached in safety, they resolved to make for 
Lucknow, but their horses being completely ex¬ 
hausted they purchased others from the mounted 
military police, and, disguising themselves as sowars 
in native attire, and with an escort of that corps* suc¬ 
ceeded in reaching Byram Ghaut. The accounts differ 
as to how they met their death there, but Futtehshah 
Khan, the extra assistant commissioner, who was the 
only eye-witness from, whom I have received any 
relation of the particulars, says, that no sooner had 
they got on board the boat, than the sowars took 
away their horses, which were to have followed in 
another; this attracted the observation of a party of 
the Secrora sepoys guarding the ghauts, who, on ques¬ 
tioning the sowars, and learning the true character 
of their seeming companions, pursued them in boats 
and shot them in midstream. Mr. Jorden, he relates, 
was kept alive for some days, and put to death by 
order of the subadar commanding at Secrora. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


139 


Futtehshah Khan * escaped with his life, because 
he was a native, but after he was robbed of every¬ 
thing. He made his way to Setapore, and thence 
to Bareilly, where, I make little doubt, he has been 
deep in rebel counsels, though he has not openly 
taken office. But his brother and uncle were respec¬ 
tively nazims of Bareilly and Budaon under Khan 
Bahadoor, and he is an able, ambitious man and a 
bigot too. 

There was only one European clerk at Baraitch, 
and he happened to be away on leave. When he 
arrived within a mile or two of Baraitch, on his 
return there, he heard the European officers had fled, 
and at once took the road to Bulrampore, which he 
reached while I was there. 


Durriabad. 

This station had participated in the general un¬ 
easiness felt in the neighbouring stations, but up to 
the 8 th of June no open opposition to the British 
Government had occurred, perilling the lives of the 
Christian community. 

* He was executed on the reoccupation of Rohilcund for a 
treasonable letter addressed by him to Waladad Khan, of 
Malaghur. 



140 


‘ NARRATIVE OF 


In May, the treasure had been ordered into Luck¬ 
now, but the sepoys, apparently, were not to be 
trusted, and the authorities feared hurrying them 
into revolt. Early in June great efforts were made 
to get the regiment there, the 5th Oude, to march 
with the treasure to Lucknow. On the evening of 
the 8th, the treasure was laden on carts and orders 
issued for marching. There is no reliable account 
of what immediately caused the outbreak, but it 
appears the Christian residents were apprized of it 
by the firing of musketry almost before the whole 
line of treasure carts had got out of the cantonments. 
The Europeans all managed to escape except two 
clerks, Messrs. Forbes and Wiltshire, who were 
taken prisoners by the sepoys, and after much insult 
and ill-treatment liberated. They managed to reach 
Lucknow safely, whither the principal civil and mili¬ 
tary officers and the larger portion of the Christian 
community also went. 


Gonda. 

Lieutenant Clarke, assistant commissioner, thus 
describes the mutiny at this station:— 

On the 15th of June, about 3 p.m., I received a note from 
Mr. Wingfield, the commissioner of Baraitch Division, and 



EVENTS IN OUDE. 


141 


who was residing at Secrora at the time, to the effect that all 
the ladies at that station were to start for Lucknow in the 
evening; and, therefore, the ladies of Gonda had better take 
advantage of the opportunity to be off and join the party, 
as, in all probability, no other opportunity would offer itself, 
and the road to Lucknow, in a day or two, would most assuredly 
be closed by the rebels. 

The assistant-surgeon of the regiment, Dr. Bartrum, and 
myself being the only married officers in the place, we con¬ 
sulted with the officers of the corps as to whether, in their 
opinion, the sending away of the ladies would have a bad effect 
on their men or not; and, on receiving a reply in the negative, 
we determined to start immediately with our wives to Secrora. 
This we did, and reached that station about midnight, where, 
taking leave of our wives, and giving them over to the protec¬ 
tion of a guard of Captain Boileau’s regiment, the 2nd Oude 
Irregular Infantry, which was waiting in readiness to escort 
them to where the Secrora ladies had proceeded, we returned, 
next morning, to Gonda. 

On receiving the note alluded to, the sergeant-major of the 
3rd, and the married clerks of the deputy commissioner’s office, 
when informed of the determination, came to beg Dr. Bartrum 
and myself to go to Secrora; and they were invited to take 
advantage of the same opportunity, but some circumstances 
or other, which I now forget, prevented their coming with us; 
so, a day or two afterwards, the married clerks were permitted 
to take their wives and families to Bulrampore. The wife and 
family of the sergeant-major also accompanied the party. 

From the 6th to the 9th, all went as smoothly at Gonda as 
it had ever done before; when, on the evening of the latter 
date, we were all thrown into a state of anxiety by the arrival 
of Mr. Wingfield, who informed us that he had just ridden 
over from Secrora, as Captain Boileau’s regiment was all but 


142 


NARRATIVE OF 


in open mutiny; he further informed us that the troops of 
Fyzabad had mutinied. 

We were aware that the troops of Durriabad had already 
mutinied, and now that the Fyzabad and Secrora troops had 
followed their example all roads from the Gonda districts were 
closed. Captain Miles, therefore, immediately sent to the lines, 
summoned the native officers of his regiment, informed them 
of what Mr. Wingfield had told us, explained to them how all 
egress from the district, except via Bulrampore, was now closed, 
and suggested to them the advisability of the regiment march¬ 
ing off next morning, with all the money in the Gonda trea¬ 
sury, to Bulrampore, a small town about thirty miles off, and 
the residence of a friendly rajah. This plan they all agreed to 
at once, and immediately sent sepoys to procure carriage from 
the city and the surrounding villages, and by the next morning 
(the 10th instant) most of the carriages were in the lines ready 
for a start. 

The information given us by Mr. Wingfield the preceding 
evening was painfully confirmed by the arrival, the next 
morning (10th inst.), at about 8 a.m., of Lieutenant Hall and 
Assistant-Surgeon Kendall, who rode in at full gallop, and 
told us that Captain Boileau’s regiment, to which they belonged, 
had broken out into open mutiny, and that he (Captain Boi- 
leau), like themselves, had to flee for his life; but they added 
the gratifying intelligence that the men of Lieutenant Bonham’s 
light field battery were still firm. 

Writing as I do from memory, I am not quite certain why 
the plan of going to Bulrampore was not carried out the next 
morning, but I believe the causes were two: first, because of 
the intelligence given by Lieutenant Hall concerning the state 
of the artillery at Secrora, which was confirmed by a note 
from Lieutenant Bonham himself, about 12 a.m. of the same 
day; and, secondly, to enable the detachment of the 3rd Oude 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


143 


Infantry, which was on command at Baraitch, to rejoin the 
regimental head-quarters, before they marched for Bulram- 
pore; hut, be the cause what it may, the proposed plan was 
not carried out. 

On the evening of the 10th, we received another note from 
Lieutenant Bonham, in which he stated that, two hours after 
writing the first letter, he had been driven out of his battery, 
and was then on his way with one or two men to Lucknow, 
intending to cross the river Gogra at Gurkhoeea Ghaut. The 
note had evidently been written in a hurry, for it was but a 
scrap of paper, and in pencil. 

Captain Miles again assembled his native officers and ordered 
them to prepare to march with the treasure to Bulrampore; 
but this time they demurred, made excuses, and at last coolly 
said they would go to their lines, and, after reflecting upon the 
matter, would give an answer in the course of a few hours. 
On hearing this answer, Mr. Wingfield and the others, who 
had come from Secrora, decided on leaving during the night 
for Bulrampore. 

The few hours expired; the native officers returned. They 
reiterated their former excuses, and added a few fresh ones, 
but all to the same purport. Captain Miles explained to them 
that their excuses were absurd, as there was but one road open, 
and that was the one to Bulrampore. He argued with them 
and tried to bring them to a sense of their duty, warning them 
that their conduct was becoming sensibly mutinous. 

Seeing that he could not prevail on them to do what was 
right, he dismissed them to their lines, directing a strong picquet 
to be sent to a nullah on the road between Gonda and Secrora, 
to give notice of the approach of any mutineers from the latter 
station. He then advised that all of us should sleep in the 
same house, in case of any outbreak on the part of the men 
during the night. 


144 


NARRATIVE OF 


Concurring as we all did in the correctness of this advice, we 
had our beds brought into the open verandah of the adjutant’s 
house, which was nearest to the lines and treasury. We re¬ 
mained half dressed, and had our horses ready saddled in the 
compound, in case of being obliged to run for it. 

The night passed by without any molestation from the sepoys, 
hut more than once a sepoy with a shouldered musket passed 
close to our beds (I suppose to see if we were there), and more 
than once we heard a hubbub in the lines; the picquet, also, 
which was sent out on the Secrora road, returned some time 
before they, ought to have done, and when they came near the 
house where we were, the men tossed about their muskets and 
went into the lines in a most disorderly manner, laughing and 
talking boisterously. 

At daybreak, the havildar major of the regiment brought 
Captain Miles a letter he had received during the night from 
the mutineers at Secrora, in which the men of the 3rd Regi¬ 
ment were urged to seize both the treasury and their officers. 
This determined Captain Miles to make one more effort to 
bring the native officers to reason, whereupon he summoned 
them once more, and again ordered them to march to Bulram- 
pore, telling them that if they would not obey him he would 
leave them. They flatly refused to go to Bulrampore, and 
indeed anywhere. Captain Miles then sent for his two 
sergeants, and when they had joined us, we all mounted our 
horses and left the station, at a walking pace, making for Bul¬ 
rampore, which we reached the same evening. 

At the Rajah of Bulrampore’s house we met Mr. Wingfield 
and others, and we remained there till the night of the 13th 
instant, when, starting about midnight, we reached, at about 
10 p.m., a village by name Biscanah, which is in the Goruck- 
pore district, and belongs to the Rajah of Bulrampore. Re¬ 
maining there a day, we started in the night for the Rajah 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


145 


of Bhunsee’s house, where, after remaining a few days, we 
went into the station of Goruckpore. 

I consider I am here bound to record that the late lamented 
Sir Henry Lawrence, with his usual consideration and kindness, 
after the massacre at Setapore, sent round a circular to those 
commanding officers whose regiments in Oude had not as yet 
mutinied, telling them that if they found they could not keep 
their men quiet, but that the mutiny of their corps appeared 
inevitable, they had his permission to leave their regiment. 

There is but little doubt that this permission was the means 
of saving the Europeans of the stations of Gonda and Secrora. 


The following is a list of the names of those who 
received shelter and hospitality from Rajah Dirgbijey 
Singh, Rajah of Bulrampore:— 


C. J. Wingfield, Esq., commissioner of Gonda, Baraitch 
Division. 

C. B. Owen, Esq., officiating deputy commissioner of Gonda. 
Lieutenant E. G. Clarke, assistant commissioner of Gonda. 
Captain G. Boileau, commanding 
Lieutenant G. Hale, adjutant . 

B. Kendall, assistant-surgeon . 

Captain C. Miles, commanding 
Lieutenant D. Campbell, adjutant 
F. Bartrum, assistant-surgeon 
— Lynch, sergeant-major 
P. Carr, quartermaster-sergeant 
Mr. C. Tucker, head clerk, deputy commissioner’s office, Gonda. 
Mr. Yeoward, 2nd clerk, ditto, ditto. 

Brother-in-law, wife and family of Mr. Tucker. 

Family of Mr. Yeoward. 

Wife and family of Sergeant-Major Lynch. 


2nd Oude Irre¬ 
gular Infantry. 


3rd Oude Irre¬ 
gular Infantry. 


10 






146 


NARRATIVE OF 


Mr. Archer, head clerk, deputy commissioner’s office, Baraitch. 
Another clerk, name unknown, but I think belonging to com¬ 
missioner’s office, Baraitch:—nineteen individuals, exclusive 
of children, the number of whom I do not now remember. 


SlJLTANPOEE. 

It appears from various accounts that the mutiny 
at this station was commenced on the 8th or 9th of 
June by the Military Police Regiment firing at the 
late Lieutenant-Colonel S. Fisher, whilst he rode 
past their lines after an interview with Mr. Block, 
the deputy commissioner. 

Colonel Fisher, who commanded the 15th Irre¬ 
gular Cavalry, managed to reach his own lines, 
where he was met by his two officers. Captain A. 
Gibbings and Lieutenant C. W. Tucker. They suc¬ 
ceeded with difficulty in getting him into a dooley. 
Feeling himself mortally wounded, he begged them 
to leave him and provide for their own safety. 

Very soon the men of the regiment attacked them, 
killing Colonel Fisher and Captain Gibbings, but 
Lieutenant Tucker succeeded in escaping across 
country. 

Captain Bunbury, commanding the police regi¬ 
ment there, and other officers, escaped to a friendly 
rajah, and the ladies were protected by the Rajah of 



EVENTS IN OUDE. 


147 


Ameatee, whither they had previously been sent for 
safety. 

The deputy commissioner, Mr. Block, and As¬ 
sistant Commissioner S troy an, were both murdered 
on the opposite bank of the Goomtee; and the follow¬ 
ing deposition gives as authentic an account of the 
sad tragedy as can be procured :— 

Deposition of Sheikh Emambux, late gaoler in the Sultanpore 
District of Oude , taken on the 3rd of September, 1858. 

On the 10th of May, 1857, I was ordered by Mr. Block, 
deputy commissioner of Sultanpore, to proceed to Chandah 
(ten coss east of Sultanpore) with Luchmun Pershad, kotwal 
of Sultanpore, with a view of instituting inquiries regarding a 
quarrel that had lately taken place in the vicinity of Chandah 
amongst some zemindars. Whilst at Chandah, about the 5th of 
June, 1857,1 received information that the troops at Jaunpore 
had mutinied, and had plundered the station, and that the 
mutineers had, shortly after the outbreak, been joined by troops 
from Benares. I immediately despatched an urzee to Mr. 
Block (on the 5th), informing that gentleman of what I had 
heard. I also sent spies towards Jaunpore, and, on their 
return, they informed me that the mutinous troops at Jaun¬ 
pore, after having plundered the treasury, houses, &c., were 
marching towards Sultanpore. I again wrote to Mr. Block, 
and immediately collected all the chowkedars and gooraits of 
the neighbourhood, and ordered them to remain at the thanah 
and tuhseel at Chandah, both of which had been previously 
strengthened by a party of forty Kajkoomar Kajpoots, sent 
there by Mr. Block. These arrangements had hardly been 
made, when I heard that the insurgents had actually reached 

10—2 


148 


KARR ATI YE OF 


Koeripore, which is about three miles east of Chandah. Kot 
receiving, through the chowkedars whom I had sent out for 
information, correct accounts of the advance of the rebels, I 
determined upon going myself to Koeripore. On my arrival 
there, I saw 500 or 600 men, sepoys. They had evidently been 
marching in great haste; they wore their native clothes, and 
had converted their uniform broad-cloth pantaloons into hags, 
having filled them with rupees. They had their belts and 
muskets. The bunneahs at Koeripore had fled, and the sepoys 
succeeded with difficulty in obtaining sugar for sherbet, by 
paying one rupee per seer for it. As I was disguised as a com¬ 
mon ryot, I easily mixed amongst them, and asked them if any 
other troops were coming in the same direction. They told 
me that a few more would join them, and that one regiment of 
infantry, and one of cavalry, had gone from Jaunpore towards 
Fyzabady and one regiment of infantry towards Purtabghur, 
and they themselves were en route to Sultanpore. They also 
said that they had killed some officers at Jaunpore, taken pos¬ 
session of the treasury, &c.; adding that Benares and Allaha¬ 
bad were both in the hands of the sepoys, and that it was now 
the Telinga Raj. They said that the 8th Regiment Oude 
Irregular Force at Sultanpore had turned “Christian” ( i.e . 
made use of the cartridges) ; but that the 1st Regiment Mili¬ 
tary Police, 15th Irregular Cavalry, were true to the cause. 
Hearing all this, I returned speedily to Chandah, and once 
more wrote to Mr. Block. This was the second urzee I had 
despatched this day (6th June) to Sultanpore. 

I was now in hourly expectation of the arrival at Chandah 
of the rebel troops, and had sent spies to give immediate notice 
of their approach. One spy returned, after a long delay, and 
told me that the rebels at Koeripore had asked him how many 
men were at Chandah. The chowkedar answered that, taking 
into account chowkedars, gooraits, police, &c., there were at 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


149 


least 500 men at Chandah. They then gave him three rupees 
(which he showed me) to conduct them by an indirect road, so 
as to avoid Chandah, towards Sultanpore. 

I again despatched this chowkedar with two or three others, 
and, on their return, was informed that the rebels had, on their 
arrival at a village three miles south of Chandah, separated 
into two parties; one party was to cross the Goomtee at Dhup- 
pass Ghaut (about twenty miles east of Sultanpore), and the 
other party was to proceed towards Meerapore-Kuturat, eight 
miles south of Sultanpore. The spy could not discover the 
reasons for this separate move. I again forwarded this infor¬ 
mation to Sultanpore. On the 7th, I received a perwannah 
from Mr. Block, ordering me back to Sultanpore, as he was 
anxious that I should return to my post at the Sultanpore gaol. 
I waited a short time at Chandah to wait the arrival of a tha- 
nadar to whom to make over charge, and at about twelve o’clock 
I started for Sultanpore. On the road I heard the sound of 
musketry, and shortly afterwards I received information that a 
fresh body of rebel troops from Jaunpore had reached Chandah , 
and had completely plundered it. Farther on, near Lumbooah, 
which is fourteen miles south-east of Sultanpore, I saw large 
bodies of troops proceeding towards Sultanpore; these halted 
at Lumbooah. I continued my road, and reached Sultanpore 
at 4 o’clock p.m. Before reaching the station, I met succes¬ 
sively several sepoys of the 8th Regiment Oude Irregular Force 
and of the military police, who each told me that things had 
gone wrong, and that on the following day (9th June) “ what¬ 
ever was to happen would happen” (“jo hooch honahai, hoga ”). 
I proceeded quickly to Mr. Stroyan’s (assistant commissioner’s) 
house, where I also found Mr. Block. Mr. Stroyan was ill and in 
bed. I now mentioned all that I had heard and seen. Mr. Block 
immediately wrote a note to Colonel Fisher, commanding Sul¬ 
tanpore, whose lines were at Badshahgunge, two miles from the 


150 


NARRATIVE OF 


station. He shortly arrived, and I was again told to repeat 
what I had already stated. Colonel Fisher asked whether I 
thought it would be advisable for him to take a body of horse 
and foot, and attack suddenly the rebels at Lumbooah P I at 
once answered that his own men could not be depended upon, and 
I again repeated what the sepoys had told me as I was approach¬ 
ing the station that morning. After a long consultation carried 
on in English, Colonel Fisher returned to his lines at Badshah- 
gunge. After his departure, I begged of the gentlemen to leave 
the station, but they refused to do so. Early next morning, 
Colonel Fisher again came to the station, and, after speaking to 
the gentlemen, started in the direction of the cantonment of the 
military police, near Badshahgunge, where some disturbance 
had taken place : a short time after his departure, I heard the 
sound of musketry. I mounted one of the bastions of the gaol, 
and saw that the bungalows of the officers of the 15th Irregular 
Cavalry had been set on fire, and was soon told that Colonel 
Fisher had been killed by the men of the military police. I 
ran and gave notice of this to Messrs. Block and Stroyan, who 
at length made preparations for flight. By this time, some of 
the sepoys and sowars from Badshahgunge had entered the 
station. The two gentlemen, accompanied by a Hindoo writer 
boy and myself, walked towards the river which rims under 
Mr. Block’s garden. Here Mr. Stroyan, who was, as already 
stated, ill, mounted Mr. Block’s horse. We went along the 
river-side under the high bank, and crossed it a little to the 
eastward of Captain Bunbury’s house. After crossing, we 
were guided by one Mowla Buksh, jemadar of Chuprassies, 
who, it appeared, promised Mr. Block to conceal him. He 
took us to a small house, close to the town of Sultanpore and 
to its eastward, near the river ; it was a very small place. 
Arrived here, Mr. Block urgently asked me to return to the 
station and see what was going on there. I did so ; and found 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


151 


that the prisoners had been released, the bungalows all in 
flames, and the property being plundered. I endeavoured to 
persuade Gungadeen, a jemadar of Chuprassies, with some of 
his men, to accompany me back to the spot where the gentle¬ 
men had taken refuge. I now returned to Sultanpore (town). 
On reaching the small house where I had left Mr. Block, I saw 
one Yaseen Khan, resident of Sultanpore, seated before the 
door —and no one in the house. I asked Yaseen Khan where the 
gentlemen were. He answered in a ferocious manner, abusing 
me at the same time. He would, doubtless, have murdered 
me, had not a friendly person, by name Soobhan Khan, made 
me a sign to move on. I did so; and, hiding as much as pos¬ 
sible in the high grass, moved along the bank of the river, 
eastward. At a short distance, I met a boy of about ten years 
of age, who told me that the people of Sultanpore had mur¬ 
dered the gentlemen. I asked him to show me the place where 
the bodies were. He did so; and at about a mile from the 
town (to the north-east) I found them. The body of Mr. 
Block was in deep water; I saw the mark of a ball on his 
right temple. Mr. Stroyan’s body was on the dry ground at 
some distance from the bank of the river: it was dreadfully 
marked with deep sword-cuts. He had evidently advanced 
from the river-side to face the enemy, one of whom he had 
succeeded in wounding. Whilst I was looking at the bodies, a 
Mahomedan zemindar came up to the spot, and I begged him 
to assist me in bringing Mr. Stroyan’s body. He consented, 
and called out to some men working in a field hard by. With 
the assistance of these men, I dug the ground deep enough to 
admit of the body being placed within; I covered it with as 
much earth as circumstances would allow me to scrape to¬ 
gether. I would also have buried Mr. Block’s body; but, 
owing to the depth of the water in which it was floating, I 
could not reach it. 


152 


NARRATIVE OF 


From the boy who had guided me, I learnt that Mowla 
Buksh, shortly after the arrival of the gentlemen in his house, 
cried out: “The people of Sultanpore are threatening to 
attack me, because I have given refuge to Europeans, but I 
shall defend them with my life.” This ruse of the wretch 
succeeded, for on hearing this boast more than once repeated, 
Messrs. Block and Stroyan thought naturally that it would be 
advisable now to leave the place, which was no longer one 
of concealment. They consequently marched in an easterly 
direction along the bank of the river, which bank is exces¬ 
sively high and steep. They were soon followed by Mowla 
Buksh and others, running along the top of the bank and 
firing upon the fugitives. The latter were, however, pro¬ 
tected by the high bank. At length, the bank slopes into the 
plain; and here, with nothing to protect them from the balls of 
the assassins, they soon fell. It would appear that Mr. Block, 
on receiving his first wound, rushed into the river, hoping to 
cross, but a second ball deprived him of life. 

After burying Mr. Stroyan, I returned once more to Sul¬ 
tanpore (town), where I was kindly received by one Ruj jub 
Khan, commandant, to whom I related what had happened. 
He abused Mowla Buksh, saying, that from his very birth he 
had been a “ dugga baz ” (full of deceit). I now crossed the 
river, and proceeded via Durriabad to Lucknow, which place I 
reached several days before the affair at Chinhut. My depo¬ 
sition was taken by Mr. Gubbins, financial commissioner. 


Whilst the out-stations round Lucknow were thus 
falling one by one, and numerous fugitives daily 
reaching Lucknow, the most active preparations were 
in progress under the vigilant superintendence of the 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


153 


late Sir Henry Lawrence, K.C.B., to make a suc¬ 
cessful stand in Lucknow. 

Sir Henry’s vigilance was untiring: often did lie 
rouse his secretary, Mr. Couper, and, attended by 
him alone, go out at night for hours, personally 
satisfying himself of the state of things around him 
in that large city, the perpetual cause of his anxiety 
and care. 

It had first been hoped that our numbers would 
have been sufficient to hold both the fortified places, 
called the Muchee Bhawun and the Residency. The 
former was considered the key to Lucknow by all the 
country round; it was the old citadel of the sheikhs 
of Lucknow, who, when the seat of government was 
at Fyzabad, held here supreme authority. 

It was therefore deemed desirable to maintain the 
show of holding this fort, whilst every arrangement 
was made for evacuating it when we should be so 
hard beset as not to have enough defenders for both 
places. 

The following letter by Sir Henry Lawrence shows 
at once his clear and decided opinion on the subject. 
It was written when he held the cantonment before 
alluded to, and where Sir Henry then was, as we did 
not withdraw from thence till a later date. 

The letter is addressed to General Sir John 


154 


NARRATIVE OF 


Inglis, K.C.B., but then colonel and commanding 
in the Residency:— 

Mr dear Inglis, June 1HA, 1857. 

Pray get me a big room, or two smaller rooms, suffi¬ 
ciently large to hold six or eight of us, in a central position, and 
where I shall not be very hot. It is important for me to be as 
cool as possible, as I feel the heat greatly. It is also necessary 
that I should be near the middle of our position. My staff, 
and you, and Anderson,* ought, I think, to be with me day and 
night. I am decidedly of opinion that we ought to have only 
one position, and that though we should hold all three canton¬ 
ments and Muchee Bhawun as long as we can, all arrangements 
should be made with reference to a sudden concentration at the 
Residency. 

1st. The treasure ought, therefore, to be removed to the 
Residency. 

2nd. The grain be brought there. 

3rd. The mortars and their ammunition. 

4th. The mass of the powder and small-arm ammunition, &c. 

5th. The eighteen-pounders : but the two in position should 
not be moved until they are replaced by two old guns, or suspi¬ 
cion will be excited. 

6 th. In short, as quickly though as quietly as possible, all 
the munitions and stores should be got into the Residency, and 
the nine-pounder field battery only with a few old guns in pos¬ 
session (to be spiked before abandoned) be left to accompany 
the troops at the last moment. The withdrawal will not be 
easy at any time; so the less that is left to bring away at the 
last moment the better. 

* Sir Henry here referred to the late lamented Major Anderson, 
of the Bengal Engineers. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


155 


Pits should be at once dug here for the grain and powder. 
Every cart and waggon of batteries, as well as of the maga¬ 
zines, should be employed in bringing in stores; and Captain 
Carnegie should furnish hackeries for grain, and elephants 
to carry old guns, as many as possible of which ought to be 
brought. Yours very sincerely, 

(Signed) H. Lawrence. 

P.S.— 11th, 4 p.m. Please read this with Anderson, and 
consult with him as to the extension of the Residency works, so 
as to enable the whole force of seven hundred Europeans, and 
say as many natives of all sorts, and the work should be carried 
on day and night. —H. L. 

In pursuance of these instructions and suggestions. 
Captain Fulton, the executive engineer, aided by 
Lieutenant Anderson, of the Madras Engineers, 
somewhat extended the Residency entrenchment, and 
by their judicious arrangements completed a fortifi¬ 
cation which turned every house to advantage, and 
secured as much flanking defence as possible. 

All departments at this time, as may well be con¬ 
ceived, were working to their very utmost; Mr. 
Gubbins, the financial commissioner, I believe, took 
especial charge of the intelligence department, most 
important in those days; Mr. Ommaney, judicial 
commissioner’s arrangements of that nature; whilst 
Major Banks, the commissioner of Lucknow, was 
indefatigably employed from morning till night in 


156 


NARRATIVE OF 


every possible kind of duty. Mr. Martin, the deputy 
commissioner, was all day on horseback, urging the 
sluggish bunneahs to send in their grain, and in this 
he was well aided by all below him ; whilst Captain 
James, the commissariat officer, worked as if he had 
foreseen the long siege before him. 

The civil authority and commissariat chiefly busied 
themselves in getting in stores, the artillery in bring¬ 
ing in our guns, destroying old ones, and labouring 
to stow away within our defences the enormous col¬ 
lection of old guns belonging to the former kings of 
Oude. Day and night carts were incessantly plying. 
Lieutenant Innes, the engineer officer of the Muchee 
Bhawun, had admirably completed his defences; but, 
as we have seen, their excellence was not to be 
proved. Demolitions of an immense number of 
houses were effected under Captain Fulton’s orders 
all round the Residency; but when the siege com¬ 
menced, vast numbers still remained. Some few 
days before the siege commenced. Sir Henry Law¬ 
rence walked round and viewed the demolitions: 
necessary as they were, he still felt for those thus 
dispossessed, and inquired from me with solicitude, if 
his express orders had been carried out, and all the 
houses registered and valued, so that compensation 
might be given. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


157 


Hundreds of men, women, and children were daily 
employed digging ditches, putting up stockades, and 
building batteries; but our position, necessarily ex¬ 
tended, required more time and labour to complete 
its fortifications than were possible. The late Major 
Anderson, attended by Lieutenant Tulloch, his aide- 
de-camp, was constantly about, over the works, stimu¬ 
lating all by his advice and example. To work in 
those days needed no stimulus; had it been wanting, 
the affection borne to Major Anderson by all his 
subordinates would have more than supplied it. The 
Residency grounds at this time were very full. Most 
of the officers bivouacked in the open air entirely; 
and many will remember how interesting was the 
progress of the Redan Battery, which rose gradually 
under the eye of the late lamented Captain George 
Fulton, of the Engineers, one of the many thousand 
and one things by him all comprehended, all well 
done; when time had proved his excellence and 
value, he fell: all mourned his loss. 

According to Sir Henry’s orders, the treasure, 
twenty-seven lakhs, was removed from the Muchee 
Bhawun into the Residency; numerous pits dug to 
contain munitions of war; and grain, &c., stowed 
away in buildings, the church, amongst other places, 
being filled with supplies. 


158 


NARRATIVE OF 


European merchants were allowed to bring in all 
their supplies, on condition of selling them at the 
same prices as before. Mr. Hill, of the firm of 
Thacker and Co., be it recorded to his honour, 
rigidly kept his promise, and when tea was a fabu¬ 
lous price per seer, sold it at the same rate as before. 
No furniture or carriage, &c., were allowed to be 
brought inside the entrenchment, only boxes con¬ 
taining wearing apparel. 

The ladies, women, and children, were, during the 
first day of June, in the main building of the Resi¬ 
dency, very closely packed, and many who were fugi¬ 
tives from out-stations in great discomfort. 

At this time Company’s paper was selling in the 
city at seventy per cent, discount; and but that 
officers were only allowed a proportion of their 
salary equal to subsistence allowance, as the trea¬ 
sure might be required for the future, much money 
could have been made: it was a wise precaution of 
Sir Henry; the money might be wanted eventually, 
and it was all we could ever expect to have. 

On the 12th of June, a military police regiment, 
under the command of Captain A. Orr, mutinied 
about noon, without showing any previous signs of 
discontent, and marched out with their arms and 
accoutrements. A force of about 100 European 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


159 


Infantry and two horse-artillery guns, with a troop of 
Sikh horse, pursued, and overtook them some five 
miles out of the city. The regiment, 700 strong, 
had made steadily away through the Dilkoosha Park, 
all scattered over the country; and the cavalry and 
guns—the infantry not being able to keep up—did 
not kill more than twenty of them. As the infantry 
retreated, they kept up a desultory fire on the small 
party of their assailants, and eventually joined other 
mutineers at the gathering near Nawabgunge on the 
Fyzabad road. 

This was an unpleasant episode, showing how com¬ 
pletely all had determined apparently to throw off 
British supremacy. Towards the latter end of June, 
the British forces were collected in the Muchee 
Bliawun and the Residency; and some native troops 
were still stationed in the city at a place called the 
Dowlutkhana. 

The late Captain Fulton, of the Engineers, con¬ 
structed a telegraph on the top of the Residency to 
correspond with a similar one put up on the fort of 
the Muchee Bhawun. Patrols were daily sent out in 
the direction of Nawabgunge, on the Fyzabad road, 
to bring intimation of the enemy, who showed decided 
signs of assembling there in force. 

It will be well to note here, that the siege of 


160 


NARRATIVE OF 


Cawnpore, at this time going on, was felt with the 
greatest sympathy by all in Lucknow, and numerous 
were the projects and designs for crossing the Ganges 
and aiding the gallant band there besieged. With 
great interest and patience did the late Sir Henry 
Lawrence listen to all these proposals; but, comparing 
the intelligence received from Cawnpore with the 
plans proposed, and our means for executing them. 
Sir Henry, with firmness, yet with sorrow, decided 
he could only do his utmost to save all here—for 
Cawnpore he could send no aid. At last the news 
reached us through a letter written by a young 
officer at Cawnpore to his father at Lucknow, that 
General Wheeler had agreed to treat with the Nana. 
Sir Henry at once felt all was over with them, and 
a few hours brought the sorrowful news. It was no 
slight addition to his cares to have the painful duty 
of refusing aid to General Wheeler, whose letters 
were naturally urgent, and plainly expressed that 
otherwise all would perish. But the attempt was 
out of the question. 200 Europeans was the utmost 
we could have spared, and with this little army, a 
broad river was to be forced in the teeth of a large 
force, with a numerous artillery in position, and 
which, firing from a high bank, fully commanded the 
passage: even after the crossing had been effected, 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


161 


at least one mile of ground must be passed over 
before the entrenchment could be reached. 

It was with the greatest difficulty any news at all 
reached us from Cawnpore; all the boats from ten 
miles up and ten miles down the river, the Nana had 
carefully collected on his side of the river, and his 
sowars patrolled the banks for fifteen miles up and 
down. 

About the 20th of June, Captain Gall volunteered 
to carry despatches for Sir Henry Lawrence to Allah¬ 
abad. He was an officer of the Madras Army, and 
commanding an irregular cavalry corps. It was not 
Sir Henry’s wish he should go, but Captain Gall was 
very confident in the fidelity of his men. When 
mounted on his horse in his disguise, he told me 
that he felt certain we should need aid, our position 
would be much worse than his, he would return 
from Allahabad, guiding troops to our succour. I 
pressed his hand as he rode off, and wished him all 
success, but felt great doubts for his safety. Select¬ 
ing some six of his men, on whom he believed he 
could depend, he started and reached Roy Bareilly 
safely. 

There the townsmen got information, by some 
means or other, that a sahib was in the serai, and 
a mob collecting, the unfortunate officer was set upon 

11 


162 


NARRATIVE OE 


and killed. It appears that the murder was perpe¬ 
trated by the Mahomedans of the town, and it is not 
known how far his own sowars were implicated. 
This expedition of Captain Gall’s was undertaken 
at his own request and against the advice of his 
friends, who could not but look on it as most 
perilous, considering the state of Oude, and remem¬ 
bering the fate of poor Captain Hayes and many 
other Oude officers who had trusted their men. 

The health of Sir Henry during these later days 
was very broken; at times he was so exhausted that 
it became necessary to appoint a provisional council, 
who carried on the executive during those days 
when the doctors absolutely forbade his doing any¬ 
thing. 

Mr. Gubbins, financial commissioner; Mr. Om- 
maney, judicial commissioner; Major Banks, commis¬ 
sioner of Lucknow; Colonel Inglis, of Her Majesty’s 
32nd Regiment; and Major Anderson, chief engineer, 
composed this provisional council, with Mr. Couper, 
the secretary. 

Some four days before the siege commenced, the 
jewels of the ex-king were removed from the 
Kaiser Bagh to prevent their falling into the hands 
of the enemy, and were stowed away in the Re¬ 
sidency. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


163 


To effect this, as opposition was anticipated from 
the African eunuchs and slaves, two horse-artillery 
guns and a company of Europeans attended the 
party. No opposition was offered, but the feelings 
of the people were pretty clearly expressed by their 
demeanour. 

Major Banks and Captain Carnegie were deputed 
by Sir Henry Lawrence to seize the jewels, and 
Major Banks requested me to accompany him. The 
jewels were in large ant-eaten boxes, whose bottoms 
dropped out when removed. With great trouble we 
succeeded in filling a number of boxes with an indis¬ 
criminate mass of valuables, including jewels of all 
sorts, valuable swords, dresses, &c. These boxes 
having no locks, we tied cords round them and sealed 
the fastenings. 

By this precautionary measure of Sir Henry’s, the 
rebels were deprived of some eighty lakhs of jewels, 
for which they eagerly inquired when they entered 
the city: this I have since ascertained from inquiries 
here. 

On the evening of the 29th of June, the enemy 
having reached Chinhut, a village about eight miles 
from Lucknow, on the Fyzabad road, it was deter¬ 
mined to attack them. The result of this engagement 
has been already published; but the following extract 

11—2 


164 


NARRATIVE OF 


from the report of Brigadier Inglis will be read again 
with interest:— 

The force destined for this service, and which was composed 
as follows, moved out at 6 a.m., on the morning of the 30th of 
June:— 

Artillery .—4 guns of No. — Horse Light Field Battery. 

4 „ of No. 2, Oude Field Battery. 

2 „ of No. 3, Oude Field Battery. 

An 8-inch howitzer. 

Cavalry .—Troops of Volunteer Cavalry. 

120 troopers of detachments, belonging to 1st, 
2nd, and 3rd regiments of Oude Irregular 
Cavalry. 

Infantry .—300 Her Majesty’s 32nd. 

150 13th Native Infantry. 

60 48th Native Infantry. 

20 71st Native Infantry (Sikhs). 

The troops, misled by the reports of wayfarers, who stated 
that there were few or no men between Lucknow and Chin- 
hut, proceeded somewhat farther than had been originally 
intended, and suddenly fell in with the enemy, who had, up to 
that time, eluded the vigilance of the advance guard by con¬ 
cealing themselves behind a long line of trees in overwhelming 
numbers. The European force and the howitzer, with the 
Native Infantry, held the foe in check for some time; and had 
the six guns of the Oude Artillery been faithful, and the Sikh 
cavalry shown a better front, the day would have been won in 
spite of an immense disparity in numbers. But the Oude 
artillerymen and drivers were traitors. They overturned the 
guns into ditches, cut the traces of their horses, and abandoned 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


165 


them, regardless of the remonstrances and exertions of their 
own officers and of those of Sir Henry Lawrence’s staff, headed 
by the Brigadier-General in person, who himself drew his 
sword upon these rebels. Every effort to induce them to stand 
having proved ineffectual, the force, exposed to a vastly su¬ 
perior fire of artillery, and completely outflanked on both sides 
by an overpowering body of infantry and cavalry, which actu¬ 
ally got into our rear, was compelled to retire with the loss of 
three pieces of artillery, which fell into the hands of the enemy ? 
in consequence of the rank treachery of the Oude gunners, and 
with a very grievous list of killed and wounded. The heat 
was dreadful, the gun ammunition was expended, and the 
almost total want of cavalry to protect our rear made our 
retreat most disastrous. 

All the officers behaved well; and the exertions of the small 
body of volunteer cavalry, only forty in number, under Captain 
Kadcliffe, 7th Light Cavalry, were most praiseworthy. Sir 
Henry Lawrence subsequently conveyed his thanks to myself, 
who had, at his request, accompanied him upon this occasion 
(Colonel Case being in command of Her Majesty’s 32nd). He 
also expressed his approbation of the way in which his staff— 
Captain Wilson, officiating deputy assistant adjutant-general; 
Lieutenant James, sub-assistant commissary-general; Captain 
Edgell, officiating military secretary; and Mr. Couper, civil 
service ; the last of whom had acted as Sir Henry Lawrence’s 
aide-de-camp from the commencement of the disturbances—had 
conducted themselves throughout this arduous day. Sir Henry 
further particularly mentioned that he would bring the gallant 
conduct of Captain Kadcliffe and of Lieutenant Bonham, of 
the Artillery (who worked the howitzer successfully until inca¬ 
pacitated by a wound), to the prominent notice of the govern¬ 
ment of India. The manner in which Lieutenant Birch, 71st 
Native Infantry, cleared a village with a party of Sikh skir- 


166 


NARRATIVE OF 


misherg, also elicited the admiration of the Brigadier-General. 
The conduct of Lieutenant Hardinge, who, with his handful of 
horse, covered the retreat of the rear-guard, was extolled by 
Sir Henry, who expressed his intention of mentioning the ser¬ 
vices of this gallant officer to his lordship in council. Lieu¬ 
tenant-Colonel Case, who commanded Her Majesty’s 32nd Regi¬ 
ment, was mortally wounded whilst gallantly leading on his 
men. The service had not a more deserving officer. The 
command devolved on Captain Steevens, who also received a 
death wound shortly afterwards. The command then fell to 
Captain Mansfield, who has since died of cholera. 

Our men reached the Residency utterly exhausted from a 
terrific sun and a fatiguing retreat; Sir Henry himself returned 
on a gun carriage. Weak and exhausted by illness before he 
started, it was a miracle he returned alive. I met him at the 
door of the Residency as he returned. It needed no words to 
explain the result; the utterly exhausted state of our poor 
fellows as they came in told its own tale. An overwhelming 
force, aided by the defection of our native gunners, brought 
about the catastrophe. 

The enemy pursued, but halted at the iron bridge, which is 
within the range of the guns both of the Residency and 
Muchee Bhawun. They opened a gun on the Residency from 
the iron bridge, but our fire from the Redan battery soon 
silenced it. They then gradually spread down on the opposite 
bank of the river towards the bridge of boats below the palace 
called the Chuttur Munzil; this Lieutenant Alexander, of the 
Artillery, soon disabled with an 18-pounder, and they had to 
move the bridge lower down. 

Our working parties had commenced work as usual that day; 
but, as the firing neared the Residency, an universal flight 
ensued, and with them a great number of private and public 
servants. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


167 


By evening of that day, the enemy had entirely spread 
round the entrenchment, though not actually in the very 
near houses. The richest part of the city, called the “ Chouk,” 
was plundered that night by the disorganized rebels, and the 
citizens began to find out the nature and habits of their invited 
guests. 

The slackness of the investment during this first night and 
the following were invaluable to the garrison. Many important 
engineering and other arrangements were effected: Mr. Gub- 
bins succeeded most effectually in entrenching a bastion which 
I had been making for some days, but was then unfinished; 
parapets all round were looked to and improved ; better 
arrangements for commissariat stores devised, and many other 
necessary though minor operations. 

On the 1st of July, it was determined to evacuate the 
Muchee Bhawun. The order was sent by Captain Fulton’s 
telegraph, and accordingly at 12 p.m., Lieutenant Thomas, of 
the Artillery, made arrangements for blowing it up when the 
party marched out. 

His arrangements were so perfect and so well executed, that 
the fort did not blow up until just as the first man reached the 
Residency, when the whole went off like a huge enormous 
mine; it was a magnificent spectacle, and no doubt somewhat 
surprised our assailants, who had permitted the whole Muchee 
Bhawun garrison to reach the Residency unmolested. 


The following diary by the late Major Banks will 
be read with great interest; it briefly describes the 
incidents of the siege up to the day of his death. 
The original diary, much defaced and blotted, was 
found in the city by Mr. Kavanagh, assistant 


168 


NARRATIVE OF 


commissioner, all written over with native accounts, 
evidently belonging to some pay havildar of a regi¬ 
ment :— 


Lucknow Residency , 2nd July , 1857. 

At a meeting of Major Banks, Colonel Inglis, and Major 
Anderson, Lucknow, 10.30 a.m., 2nd July, 1857. It has 
pleased God that Sir Henry Lawrence, K.C.B., Brigadier- 
General and Chief Commissioner, should be very grievously 
wounded, it is feared mortally, at 9 a.m., this day. Sir Henry 
Lawrence had previously notified to government his desire, 
that, in case of any casualty befalling himself, I (Major Banks) 
should fulfil the functions of Chief Commissioner, and that 
Colonel Inglis, her Majesty’s 32nd Regiment, commanding 
all the troops, and Major Anderson, should be a military 
council. 

This morning, after being wounded, and while in the perfect 
possession of all his faculties, Sir Henry Lawrence publicly 
delegated the above charge to the respective gentlemen, and 
these functions have now been provisionally assumed by 
them. 

I announced that Sir Henry Lawrence had just communi¬ 
cated his orders to me personally, in the presence of many 
gentlemen on the following points :— 

I.—Reserve fire, check all wall firing. 

H.—Carefully register ammunition for guns and small arms 
in store. Carefully register daily expenditure as far as pos¬ 
sible. 

III.—Spare the precious health of Europeans in every pos¬ 
sible way, from shot and sun. 

IY.—Organize working parties for night labour. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


169 


V. —Entrench—entrench—entrench—erect traverses, cut off 
enemy’s fire. 

VI. —Turn every horse out of the entrenchment, except 
enough for four guns. Keep Sir Henry Lawrence’s horse 
“ Ludakeeit is a gift to his nephew, George Lawrence. 

VII. —Use the state prisoners as a means of getting in 
supplies by gentle means if possible, or by threats. 

VHI.—Enrol every servant as bildar, or carrier of earth. 
Pay liberally, double, quadruple. 

IX. —Turn out every native who will not work (save menials 
who have more than abundant labour). 

X. —Write daily to Allahabad or Agra. 

XI. —Sir Henry Lawrence’s servants to receive one year’s 
pay; they are to work for any other gentlemen who want 
them, or they may leave if they prefer to do so. 

XII. —Put on my tomb only this—“ Here lies Henry Law¬ 
rence, who tried to do his duty. May God have mercy on 
him.” 

Xin. —Take an immediate inventory of all natives, so as to 
know who can be used as bildars, &c. 

XIV.—Take an immediate inventory of all supplies and 
food, &c. Take daily average of expenditure. 

The foregoing to be acted on. 

It was resolved that Colonel Inglis should receive the local 
rank of brigadier subject to confirmation. Lieutenant Birch, 
71st Native Infantry, to be aide-de-camp, subject to confirma¬ 
tion. 

2nd July .—At a meeting, 2 p.m., Major Banks, Colonel 
Inglis, Major Anderson, Mr. Gubbins, and Mr. Ommaney, 
present. Mr. Gubbins, financial commissioner, announced that 
so long as Sir Henry Lawrence fives, he would not record any 
objection, but would urge his claims to the chief post, should 
it please God to take Sir Henry. Ordered that this question be 


170 


NARRATIVE OF 


left over. “ Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.” (Mili¬ 
tary orders entered in military books.) Wrote to Havelock 
and to Agra (see Captain Edgell’s book for letters); could not 
be sent. 

3rd July .—Collect and again tie up the bullocks which have 
broken out. Turn out horses, all save enough for six guns for 
the present. Grave-digging parties required. Attend to con¬ 
servancy. Issue of rations at night, as fire slackens then ; 
double pay to be issued to all soldiers, workmen, bearers, and, in 
short, to all natives in the public service who work during the 
present siege, beginning from 1st of July. A grinding corps 
to be established of dooley-bearers, to be held in the khansa- 
mah’s house, commissariat department, to make arrangements, 
more especially as to any special remuneration. (My orders 
entered in Order-book.) Servants of state prisoners to be 
allowed to go out to fetch medicines for their masters. Wrote 
to General Havelock, Allahabad, and to Agra (see Captain 
Edgell’s books). Mr. Ommaney, judicial commissioner, griev¬ 
ously wounded by a round shot in the head. 

Saturday, 4 th July .—Our most honoured chief, Sir Henry 
Lawrence, K.C.B., has gone to his rest; therefore, under his 
last orders, delivered before many gentlemen while he was in 
the full possession of his faculties, Major Banks, Brigadier 
Inglis, and Major Anderson, assume substantively the func¬ 
tions which they have since the 2nd instant received provi¬ 
sionally. It is generally known, and Mr. Couper, secretary to 
the Chief Commissioner, can establish the fact, that some time 
before his death, Sir Henry Lawrence had represented to 
government that, in his opinion, the public safety would be 
best consulted by routine being set aside, and by Major Banks 
being appointed to act as Chief Commissioner (provisionally), 
assisted by Colonel Inglis and Major Anderson. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


171 


Issued orders on the following subjects (see my Order- 
books) :— 

Commissariat officers to send in immediately lists of stores 
of all sorts, stating how long the stock of each article is expected 
to last. 

Commissariat officers to send in returns of estimated daily 
expenditure. 

Ordnance commissariat officers to send in returns of esti¬ 
mated daily expenditure. 

Commanding officers of corps, regular or irregular, to forward 
weekly, from to-morrow, statements showing the number of all 
ranks present, fit for duty, killed, wounded, sick, &c. 

Dowlut Sing, private of Lieutenant Bryce’s battery, is 
promoted to havildar, for highly gallant and intrepid ser¬ 
vice in his battery under heavy fire. To date from the 3rd 
instant. 

Heera Sing, jemadar of the same battery, to be suba- 
dar from the 3rd instant, in reward for fidelity and good 
service. 

Officers are requested to bear in mind that they must not, 
on any account, leave their posts on the occurrence of accident 
or casualty in another direction. At the fire, last night, several 
officers from the outposts were seen about, while they should 
have been at their specific duties, and keeping their men watch¬ 
ful and quiet. 

The commissariat officers are called on to exercise strict vigi¬ 
lance over the public stores. The carelessness of a day may 
be death to us. 

It has already been notified that the command is in the 
hands of Brigadier Inglis. To that officer will be addressed 
all requests for orders connected with the troops, save only 
such as refer to the engineering and artillery branches; 
matters connected with these will be referred to Major 


172 


NARRATIVE OF 


Anderson, engineer, who will pass orders or refer to the senior 
artillery officer. 

For public convenience, the residence of the following officers 
is notified:— 

Major Banks at Mr. Gubbins’ house. 

Brigadier Inglis, Residency; corner room on ground floor 
under what was Sir Henry Lawrence’s room. 

Major Anderson, post-office. 

The posts of the several artillery officers will be noted by 
Brigadier Inglis. 

N.B.—Received letters Nos. 1 and 2 from Mr. Gubbins 
(these and the replies of this date are with Captain Edgell). 

Wrote two letters to General Havelock at Allahabad, one by 
Naeb Kotwal’s messenger, who will get 300 rupees if he brings 
a reply, one by Hawes, and one to Agra via Mynpoorie, by 
Hawes. 

Sir Henry Lawrence’s remains interred at 9.45 p.m., in 
church inclosure. 

Sunday , 5th July , 1857.—Council met at noon. Gave orders 
regarding conservancy. 

Commissariat arrangements. 

At 4.30 p.m., Brigadier Inglis and Major Banks, with Major 
Anderson, decided that a 24-pounder howitzer should not be 
put on the roof of the Brigade mess-house. 

Rain at intervals; enemy’s fire on the whole not so heavy. 

Cawnpore road battery terribly exposed. No messenger could 
be got to take letters to Allahabad and Mynpoorie. Thirteen 
Sikhs deserted during the night. Rumours of further inten¬ 
tion of deserting on the part of Sikhs. 

Firing heard about four miles (as well as could be guessed) 
to the south. The flashes seen about sunset; no clue to the 
cause or circumstances as yet known. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


173 


Monday , 6th July .—Firing strangely diminished on the 
enemy’s part. Has this any connection with the native re¬ 
ports that many of the enemy have gone to oppose succours 
coming to us ? Time hardly admits this. 

I observed a palisading and new earthwork of the enemy’s 
in the Tehree Kothee compound, also new earthwork opposite 
Cawnpore road battery. 

More defections among the Sikhs reported to be intended. 

Carcases poisoning air; get them removed at all hazards. 

For letter to Mr. Court, magistrate of Allahabad (see Captain 
Edgell’s book), sent by Benee Sookul, invalid, who receives five 
rupees, and 100 if he brings a reply. 

No messenger for Mynpoorie. 

Tuesday , 7th July .—Firing of enemy slackened somewhat; 
very few guns fired by them. At 1.30 p.m., with 1st and 
Grenadier Company, Her Majesty’s 32nd Regiment, and a 
party of Sikhs, made a dash at Johannes’ house, from near 
which trenches were being cut to the Cawnpore battery, and 
from which house a galling fire was kept up by the enemy on 
the battery. Twenty-two of the enemy killed; four of our 
men wounded only, one badly (Cooney, a gallant fellow, who 
had spiked a gun of the enemy a few days before). Party 
most dashingly led by Lieutenant Lawrence, 32nd Regiment, 
and Ensign Studdy; the whole under Mansfield. It was 
found that no mining under the “ King’s Hospital ” (in which 
are many ladies and children) had been attempted by the 
enemy. 

It seems to me to be regretted that the house was not, in 
some way, rendered untenable as a post on the side towards our 
defences, for on our quitting it the enemy occupied it again, 
and fired down the post-otfice lane at our men passing. 

Major Francis shot through both legs by a round shot. 


174 


NARRATIVE OF 


Heavy rain in evening and night. 

Received a long letter, No. 3, from Mr. Gubbins, claiming 
chief civil power. 

Wednesday, 8th July .—Rain in morning. Mr. Ommaney 
died. Mr. Polehampton wounded. 

Wrote to Allahabad to Mr. Court (see Captain Edgell’s 
book). Enemy’s fire slack till evening, when it blazed up 
about 5.30 p.m. 

Sent letter by Soonath Misser, 69th Native Infantry, Naik, 
18-pounder battery, down the enemy’s cover in the Terhee 
Kothee. 

Much alarm and firing during the night; no real attack 
attempted. 

Major Francis died of his wounds. 

Thursday, 9th July .—Rain during the early morning; heavy 
firing on the part of the enemy. Replied to Mr. Gubbins’ 
letter No. 3 (see Mr. Couper’s letter book). 

Men sent out: tell us that, save at Golagunge and Fuckeer 
Mahomed’s house, there are not many mutinous soldiers. There 
is a party at Mr. Hill’s shops, about sixty ; also three hundred 
in the old Cotwally building. Many said to have gone to their 
homes in disgust. Some regiments said to have gone against 
the force advancing from Allahabad. This is denied by 
others. 

Very few large guns fired at us for the last three days. 

13 th Mutineers Native Infantry 

48th Mutineers Native Infantry 

4th Oude Irregular Force Infantry 

7th Oude Irregular Force Infantry 

5th Oude Irregular Force Infantry 


Said to be investing 
us, but I think 
this can hardly 
be right. 


Friday, 1 ()th July.—A native emissary stated that Cawnpore 



EVENTS IN OXIDE. 


175 


is occupied by the English. I therefore wrote a letter thither, 
sending it by Bhoopchund Naik, invalid, at 9.15 p.m. 

I also wrote to Mr. Court, at Allahabad, and sent it by Bho- 
wany Deen Tewarry, havildar of invalids, at 9.15 p.m. I could 
not get a messenger for Mynpoorie. 

Mr. Elliott, a writer, disguised himself and brought in news 
from the town, but of a preposterous nature, dealing in tens of 
thousands, and evidently wrong. He says, however, that four 
regiments, with six guns, had been sent by the Nana Sahib from 
Cawnpore to intercept relief to us, and that an attack was to be 
made at 4 a.m. to-morrow, the forlorn hope being five hundred 
Passees, to whom great promises have been made. Warned all 
guards. 

Saturday, 1 Ith July .—No attack last night. 

Addressed Brigadier Inglis regarding the treasure and the 
copper caps said to have been brought from the Muchee 
Bhawun by the troops under Colonel Palmer, and of which 
treasure and caps no information can, I am told, be now got 
here. 

Addressed Brigadier Inglis regarding the bringing of the 
valuables belonging to the king brought from the Kaiser 
Bagh. 

Addressed Brigadier Inglis and Major Anderson regarding 
the remarks made by Mr. Ommaney at our meeting of the 
2nd instant, on the subject of the arrangements ordered by 
Sir Henry Lawrence, for the conduct of affairs. 

No messenger could be procured for Allahabad. 

Sunday , 12^ July .—Enemy not very active during the 
day. They, however, took possession (yesterday) of a house 
about one hundred yards from Mr. Gubbins’ post, from which 
they annoyed us a good deal. The commanding officer of 
Mr. Gubbins’ post had fired some 9-pounder round shot at the 


176 


NARRATIVE OF 


house; but Brigadier Inglis forbade this, for obvious reasons. 
He caused some shells to be thrown, which turned the enemy 
out. 

At night, an attack on the river-side of the Residency 
repulsed and some fifty of the enemy killed ; no loss on 
our side. 

No messenger procurable to send letters out. 

Because of gram instead of flour being used, several khid- 
mutgars and bheestees bolted. Mr. G. had agreed to arrange for 
grinding, but each servant had to grind his own, and these hard- 
worked fellows could not stand this. 

Monday , 13 th July .—Enemy fired back upon us three shells 
of our own (eight-inch) which had not exploded, and to which 
they fitted new fuses. They also fired a carcass as a round shot. 
It traversed the mess room in the Residency, but fortunately 
struck no one. 

Lieutenant Charlton struck in the head by a bullet; very 
dangerous wound. 

No very great activity on the part of the enemy. 

At night I was well enough to visit some of the posts. All 
well. 

Night wet; earthwork protection thrown up to protect 
entrance to post-office. 

Tuesday, 14 th July .—Morning cloudy. 

Enemy very active, firing heavily with musketry, and they 
have moved more guns close to Mr. Gubbins near the yellow 
house, and also a gun to the back of the King’s Hospital. 
This has done some harm, putting six round shot in half 
an hour through the wall, and carrying off an Englishman’s 
legs. 

Lieutenant Lester severely (mortally, it is feared) hit through 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


177 


the back by a musket bullet, which came sweeping over from 
the Redan side. 

Wrote to Cawnpore and Allahabad (or force on march); 
letter sent by Goolab, who is to receive two hundred rupees 
for an answer. 

Fine night; not much firing. 

Wednesday, 1 5th July. —Much firing in the morning ; sub¬ 
sided towards noon. Fine day. The stench of dead horses 
buried outside the intrenchment very unpleasant. 

Wrote to Cawnpore and Allahabad; sent letters by a jema¬ 
dar, 71st Native Infantry. 

Firing blazed up in the evening. 

Thursday , 1 §th July. —Nothing of special note. Enemy less 
troublesome than usual. No rain. 

No messenger procurable to carry letters to the outside. 

Lester died. Mrs. Thomas died of confluent small-pox in the 
Begum’s Kothee. 

Firing blazed up at night a good deal. Fine night. 

Bryce shot through thigh by musket-ball. 

Friday , 17 th July. —Nothing of special note. Heavy firing 
at night, but little injury done. 

No messenger procurable. 

Clare Alexander, Artillery, terribly burnt by a mortar. 

Saturday , 18^ July. —Heavy firing in the morning; firing 
mitigated during the afternoon. 

Letter to Cawnpore sent by Mr. Alexander, a writer. 

Letter to Allahabad or advancing force, sent by Isseree Gwalla. 

Much firing during the night. 

Sunday , 19/A July. —Lieutenant Arthur killed in Cawnpore 
battery. Lieutenant Harmer lost leg from round shot. 

Seven round shot through drawing-room of Mr. Gubbins’ 
house. 


12 


178 


NARRATIVE OF 


The lamented Major Banks, whose journal here 
terminates, was killed on the 21st July, shot through 
the head by a bullet: he died at once. 

At the time of his death he was on the roof 
of a stable in Mr. Gubbins’ compound, on the side 
where the enemy was making a very determined 
attack. 

As a member of the garrison, I may state how 
deeply all felt his loss. I know that he had pre¬ 
viously enjoyed the entire confidence of the late la¬ 
mented Sir Henry Lawrence, K.C.B., to whom he 
was a most valuable and ever ready counsellor. 
Capable of undergoing incessant fatigue, both of 
mind and body, he gave confidence to all, as much 
by his bodily presence where danger was most immi¬ 
nent, as by his sound, firm, and judicious orders. 

I trust it may be admissible here to allude, but 
briefly, to the services I myself saw rendered by the 
civilians, covenanted and uncovenanted. An eye¬ 
witness, I saw Mr. Gubbins, the financial commis¬ 
sioner, labouring incessantly either at the defensive 
works of his own garrison, or defending with his 
rifle some weak part. To him is due the credit of 
having retrenched and completed his bastion. On 
the very first night of the siege he proposed it to me, 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


179 


and, by his energy and perseverance, effectually 
carried it out. 

I saw Mr. Couper, the secretary to the Chief Com¬ 
missioner, aided by three or four other civilians be¬ 
tween the intervals of “ sentry go,” labouring with 
spade and shovel in heat and in rain, in the revolting 
task of burying the putrid carcases of bullocks; and 
I have felt most grateful for his example and strong 
right arm in labouring at the shafts and mines of 
the Brigade mess. The friend and counsellor of Sir 
John Inglis, K.C.B., he was ever as ready to aid 
him manually as mentally. Night after night I have 
seen him with Major Wilson, our vigilant and valued 
adjutant-general, going round to all the garrisons of 
our position, to be able to report to Sir John that the 
utmost watchfulness prevailed in all. 

I witnessed Mr. Martin the deputy commissioner’s 
exertions before the siege, in procuring that to which, 
under Providence, we owe our lives, namely, provi¬ 
sions ; and I saw how he always lent a hand to any 
work going on in addition to his own daily sentry 
duty. 

The gallantry and devoted bravery of Mr. Thorn¬ 
hill is known to all. I had personally observed it 
when he joined in the pursuit of a mutinous Oude 
police regiment before the siege commenced; and I 

12—2 


180 


NARRATIVE OF 


saw him on his deathbed, where he sealed his devo¬ 
tion with his life. As a voluntary guide to bring in 
the wounded of the late Sir Henry Havelock’s force, 
he had gone out from the garrison, and in that noble 
duty received his death wound. 

The vigilance and cheerfulness of Mr. Schilling, 
principal of La Martiniere College, and Mr. Shank, 
professor in the same, both of whom, aided by some 
soldiers, managed by their schoolboys to guard most 
effectually their important post, was well known to 
all: and in our mining operations at their post I 
could not but observe their cordial ever ready aid. 

In the labours of the mines at Sago’s and the 
Financial garrisons, the constant hard work of the 
uncovenanted of those excellent garrisons was most 
conspicuous. It is not possible to mention all, but 
the few facts I have mentioned will prove how nobly 
the Civil Service, covenanted and uncovenanted, 
took up its allotted part in the defence of the garri¬ 
son, rendering, by its hearty union, that garrison 
within able effectually to repel the unwieldy and 
providentially disunited efforts of the vast hordes 
without. 

The remaining particulars of the siege of Luck¬ 
now and its splendid relief, under the late General 
Sir Henry Havelock, K.C.B., with General Sir 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


181 


James Outram, G.C.B., who so nobly seconded 
him, have become history; it remains only to trace 
out the fate of those of our surviving countrymen 
and women who, unable to reach the Residency 
before the siege commenced, could not afterwards 
come in. 

It will be remembered that a small party escaped 
from Setapore and joined Captain Patrick Orr and 
his wife at Mithowlee. 

This party consisted of Sir Mountstewart Jack- 
son, Bart., and his sister. Miss Jackson; Lieutenant 
Burnes, 10th Oude Irregular Infantry; Sergeant- 
Major Morton; and Miss Sophie Christian, a little 
child only three years old. 

It will also be remembered that the Shahjehan- 
pore fugitives were stated to have been massacred in 
the northern part of Oude. 

A complete account of the Shahjehanpore mas¬ 
sacre and the fortunes of Captain Orr and his wife 
and child, and of Sir M. Jackson’s party, is given 
as follows, by Captain Alexander Orr, a deputy 
commissioner in Oude.* 

* Note by Captain Hutchinson:—“ I may observe here that on 
the 10th May I was with Mr. Thomason and Captain Orr at 
Mohumdee, and that on the 13th May I left Captain James’s house 
at Shahjehanpore, at which time the utmost peace and security 
apparently reigned at both places.” 


182 


NARRATIVE OF 


On the 31st of May, 1857, Sunday, the mutiny 
broke out at Shahjehanpore. Most of the officers 
and ladies of the station were assembled at church. 
The building was suddenly surrounded by rebel 
sepoys, who, rushing in, murdered many of the con¬ 
gregation ; some, however, of the officers and ladies 
succeeded in obtaining refuge in the vestry and turret 
of the church, securing the door after them. Fortu¬ 
nately, the sepoys were only armed with swords and 
latthees, and their efforts to break open the doors 
being unsuccessful, they withdrew to their lines for 
the purpose of arming themselves with their muskets, 
with which to renew the attack. Seizing upon the 
opportunity of escape thus afforded to them, the 
officers and ladies rushed to some carriages and 
horses still waiting outside of the building; and, 
mounting, made the best of their way to Powaen, 
the residence of a rajah, and situated on the frontier 
of Oude, but within the Shahjehanpore district. The 
party was ill received by the rajah, who, urging his 
inability, real or pretended, to protect them, refused 
them shelter. Mr. Jenkins, the junior magistrate of 
Shahjehanpore, and one of the party, on his arrival 
at Powaen, wrote to Mr. Thomason, the deputy com¬ 
missioner of Mohumdee, in Oude, giving him notice 
of what had occurred at Shahjehanpore, and begging 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


183 


him to send all available carriage to enable the party 
to reach Mohumdee. Mr. Thomason received the 
letter at the hands of a runner on the evening of the 
31st of May, and immediately complied with Mr. 
Jenkins’ request. 

Previous to this period, matters had been wearing 
a gloomy aspect at Mohumdee. It is true that, up 
to the 3rd of June, 1857, the daks were still run¬ 
ning, but it had also become evident that the minds 
of the native population were greatly agitated. At 
the station were Mr. Thomason, the deputy com¬ 
missioner, and Captain Patrick Orr, first assistant 
commissioner, with Mrs. Orr and child. Of troops 
there were, two companies of the 9th Regiment Oude 
Irregular Force, two companies of the Oude Military 
Police, with about fifty troopers. 

On the receipt of Mr. Jenkins’ letter, both Mr. 
Thomason and Captain Orr felt that the crisis was 
at hand, and that the mutineers of the 28 th Regiment 
Native Infantry, from Shahjehanpore, would shortly 
reach Mohumdee, attracted thither by the hope of 
securing for themselves the contents of the Govern¬ 
ment treasury. It was at once resolved that Mrs. 
Orr should be sent to Mithowlee, under care of the 
rajah of that place,—a man who had not only been 
ever treated with much consideration by Mr. Thoma- 


184 


NARRATIVE OF 


son, but also was indebted to Captain Orr for many 
acts of kindness shown to him by that officer, before 
the country had passed under British rule. It was 
also resolved that the civil officers should withdraw 
from the station to the fort of Mohumdee, distant 
about one mile. The fort had, since the annexation, 
been made use of as a treasury as well as a gaol. 
Mr. Thomason even hoped that he might, in case of 
necessity, by strengthening the fort and calling for 
assistance from the neighbouring zemindars, defend 
the place against the attacks of the rebels; but it was 
soon found that the building was in too dilapidated 
a state to admit of its long being taken advantage of 
as a place of defence. 

On the night, then, of the 31st of May, 1857, Mrs. 
Orr, accompanied by an escort of the 9th Regiment 
Oude Irregular Infantry, under command of Issuree 
Sing, subadar, left Mohumdee; the escort having 
previously sworn to defend with their lives both 
Mrs. Orr and her child. The small party marched 
all night, a distance of about twenty-six miles, and 
reached Mithowlee on the morning of the 1st June, 
at about eight o’clock. On the arrival at the fort of 
the rajah, Mrs. Orr was told that he was asleep, 
and could not, on any account, be disturbed. At 
the expiration of two long and weary hours the 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


185 


rajah sent his vakeel with a message to Mrs. Orr 
that she should proceed to another of his forts, at a 
place called Kutcheanee, situated in a dense jungle, 
and, consequently, as he said, less likely to attract 
the attention of the bands of soldiers that it was ex¬ 
pected would shortly be overrunning the country. 

Finding all remonstrances useless, Mrs. Orr pro¬ 
ceeded with her escort to the Kutcheanee fort, on 
entering which a place was pointed out for herself 
and another for the escort. It was a most dreary, 
desolate-looking building, devoid of the most com¬ 
mon articles of furniture, and presenting a picture 
of the utmost discomfort. Mrs. Orr could not but 
shudder as she entered the place, but she was assured 
by the people that the rajah would himself shortly 
come to the fort, and make every arrangement for 
her comfort. He did, indeed, come that very even¬ 
ing, and, taking a most solemn oath, assured his 
guest that he would be faithful to her and protect 
her from all danger. He mentioned, in course of 
conversation, that Mr. Christian, the commissioner of 
the division, had written to him to forward to Se- 
tapore all the rajah’s elephants, but that he had 
refused to comply with the commissioner’s request, 
under pretext that the animals were suffering from 
sore backs; but he plainly gave Mrs. Orr to under- 


186 


NARRATIVE OF 


stand that, although Setapore had not as yet broken 
out, still the men were ripe for mutiny, and he did 
not wish to lose his elephants. 

The rajah, after renewing his protestations of 
fidelity, took his departure for Mithowlee, without, 
however, having taken any steps towards rendering 
her position a little less uncomfortable, or providing 
for her most pressing wants. The whole day had 
passed, and the evening was fast closing in, without 
any food having been supplied, and it was only at 
a late hour of the night that some provisions of a 
coarse kind were procured from a village. Those 
who are unacquainted with the manners and cus¬ 
toms of the Oude zemindars, and who have expe¬ 
rienced the courteous hospitality invariably shown 
by them to strangers, will not fail to remark this 
gross deviation on the part of the rajah from time- 
honoured usage. 

Let us now return to Mohumdee. On the receipt 
by Mr. Thomason of Mr. Jenkins’ letter, he sent for 
a party of men from the lines to escort to the fort 
a sum of money which was then in the kutcherry. 
The men came; but though they still, mechanically 
as it were, obeyed orders, yet from their behaviour 
and bearing, it was but too evident that they were 
no longer under any real subordination. It was 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


187 


also from this party that the escort which accom¬ 
panied Mrs. Orr to Mithowlee had been chosen. 
They belonged to the regiment formerly raised and 
commanded by Captain Orr under the Oude rule. 
That officer now advanced to the sepoys* and plainly 
and frankly told them that the troops at Shahjehan- 
pore had mutinied* and that* in all probability* sooner 
or later, they would come to Mohumdee; that he 
was anxious to see Mrs. Orr and her child placed 
in safety; that he had fixed upon Mithowlee as a 
place of refuge, and that he now asked them* if 
they would escort them to the rajah’s fort. The 
men swore solemnly to do so. 

Issuree Sing, subadar* at once came forward 
and said that not only would he accompany them 
to Mithowlee* but even* should it be desired* he 
would see them safely to Lucknow. To this latter 
proposal* however, the men objected* saying that 
Lucknow was at too great a distance* but they 
would willingly agree to go to Mithowlee. We 
have seen how well they fulfilled their promise. 
Issuree Sing, especially, behaved extremely well* 
showing in his conduct the greatest respect towards 
Mrs. Orr* and even* when required* affording his 
assistance and advice. On Mrs. Orr’s departure 
from Mohumdee* Mr. Thomason and Captain Orr, 


188 


NARRATIVE OF 


followed by the troops then at Mohumdee, removed 
to the fort. This was now the 1st of June. On 
the day following, the party expected from Powaen 
reached Mohumdee. It must not be imagined that 
the officers who had escaped from Shahjehanpore 
had effected their escape scathless; no, several of 
them had received severe wounds, which had been 
bound up by the ladies of the party with portions of 
their dress torn up for the purpose. 

Sad was the appearance of the poor Shahjehan¬ 
pore refugees on their arrival at Mohumdee; weary 
and with naked feet did they with much difficulty 
and toil reach thus far. Mr. Thomason now wrote 
to Mr. Christian, at Setapore, requesting him to 
send all the conveyances he could possibly collect 
for the use of the party at Mohumdee, whose inten¬ 
tion it was to proceed to Setapore, then considered 
the safest place. Mr. Christian sent the carriages, 
together with a guard, which reached Mohumdee 
on the 3rd, and immediately spread the report that 
two companies of their own regiment had been 
destroyed by the English at Lucknow for refusing 
to become Christians. On the following day, the 
4th, the guard broke up the dhoolies, &c., that had 
been entrusted to them by Mr. Christian. It was 
on the evening of this very day (4th) that all the 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


189 


party then assembled at Mohumdee commenced 
their march towards Setapore. An account of this 
dreadful march is contained in the following copy 
of a letter, written on the 8 th June by Captain 
Orr to his youngest brother at Lucknow. It will 
be found of a profoundly sad interest, written as 
it was so shortly after the enactment of the dreadful 
tragedy of which it gives the details:— 

Jungle , near Mithou'lee , 

My dear Adolphe, 8th June , 1857. 

I wrote to you on the 6th instant, but am afraid my 
letter has not been sent to you. On the 31st May, Sunday, the 
28th Native Infantry broke out into mutiny, and some of the 
men rushed into the church and murdered Collector Ricketts, 
and wounded Spens of the 28th, and killed the doctor. James 
was killed on his parade ground. 

The following made their escape :— 

Captains Sneyd, Lysaght, Salmon; Lieutenants Key, Ro¬ 
bertson, Scott, Pitt, Rutherford ; Ensigns Spens, Johnston, 
Scott; Quartermaster - Sergeant Grant, Band - master, one 
drummer, Mrs. Scott, Miss Scott, Mrs. Lysaght, Mrs. Key, 

Mrs. Bowling, Mrs. Shiels, Mrs. Grant, Mrs.-, four 

children, Lieutenant Shiels (Veteran Establishment), Mr. 
Jenkins, C. S. They ran away to Powaen ; but the rajah 
turned them out the next morning, and they came to Mo¬ 
humdee. Thomason, the deputy commissioner of Mulaon, 
and myself, on hearing of this sad affair at Shahjehanpore, 
consulted together, and sent away Annie to Mithowlee, and 
went ourselves to the fort to protect the treasury, if pos¬ 
sible. 


190 


NARRATIVE OF 


On Monday, about twelve at noon, the party from Shah- 
jehanpore arrived; and from that time the most alarming 
symptoms showed themselves amongst the men. I used 
every measure in my power to pacify them, but in vain. 
By the most strenuous efforts, I persuaded them from hour 
to hour to come back to their allegiance. Every moment 
seemed to be our last. The men were civil to me to the 
last, but each one said he could not answer for what some 
of the bad characters would do. 

I succeeded in gaining some influence over them, and kept 
them quiet till a detachment of fifty men came in on Tuesday 
morning (4th) from Setapore, sent by Christian (commissioner) 
to escort the ladies in. 

These men brought with them the report that the whole of 
their light company at Muchee Bhawun had been cut up by 
the Europeans, and that they were determined to take their 
revenge. Seeing the state of things, I sent for all the native 
officers, and told them to let me know at once, like men, what 
their intentions were, and, if reasonable, I would give my con¬ 
sent. They came to the resolution of marching at once to 
Setapore, and swore they would spare our lives, and take 
Thomason and me into Setapore, and would allow the others 
to go away unmolested. 

I made them take a solemn oath, and they all put their 
hands on Lutchmun jemadar. Well, we left Mohumdee at 
5.30 p.m., on Thursday, after the men had secured the treasure 
—about one lakh and ten thousand rupees—and released the 
prisoners. I put as many of the ladies as I could into the 
buggy, others on the baggage carts, and we reached Burwan 
at about 10.30 p.m. Next morning—Friday, the 5th—we 
marched towards Aurungabad. When we had come about 
two koss, the halt was sounded, and a trooper told us to go on 
ahead where we liked. We went on for some distance, when 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


191 


we saw a party coming along. They soon joined us and 
followed the buggy, which we were pushing on with all our 
might. When within half a mile of Aurangabad, a sepoy 
rushed forward and snatched Key’s gun from him, and shot 
down poor old Shiels, who was riding my horse. Then the 
most infernal carnage ever witnessed by man began. We all 
collected under a tree close by, and put the ladies down from 
the buggy. Shots were firing in all directions amidst the most 
fearful yells. The poor ladies all joined in prayer, coolly and 
undauntedly awaiting their fate. I stopped for about three 
minutes amongst them, but thinking of my poor wife and child 
here, I endeavoured to save my life for their sakes. I rushed 
out towards the insurgents; and one of our men—Goordeen, 
6th Company—called out to me to throw down my pistol, and 
he would save me. I did so, when he put himself between me 
and the men, and several others followed his example. In about 
ten minutes more they completed their hellish work. I was 
about three hundred yards at the utmost. Poor Lysaght was 
kneeling out in the open ground, with his hands folded across 
his chest; and though not using his firearms, the cowardly 
wretches would not go up to him till they shot him, and then, 
rushing forward, they killed the wounded and the children, 
butchering them in the most cruel way. With the exception 
of the drummer boy, every one was killed of the above list, 
and, besides, poor good Thomason and our two clerks, the 
bodies being denuded of their clothes for the sake of plunder. 
They had on them one thousand rupees; and Thomason, one 
hundred rupees. We had managed to get this money, and 
distributed it amongst ourselves in case of our escaping. On 
arrival at Aurungabad, some of the men proposed that I should 
send for Annie, and, marching into Setapore, put myself at the 
head of the regiment. 

To this, I said I could do nothing without knowing what 


192 


NARRATIVE OF 


the officers said. Fortunately, these were not brutally in¬ 
clined just then, and explained to the men that it was only 
by the consent of these two companies that I had escaped, and 
that there was no knowing what the rest of the corps and the 
41st and 10th would say or do, and that’ till their wish was 
known, it was better for me to go to Mithowlee. They let 
me have a horse and a few clothes (they had the evening 
before plundered Thomason’s and my property). I persuaded 
a guard to bring me here, and got a letter from them, making 
me over to the Rajah Lonee Sing. On reaching this, the 
rajah received me, and sent me to the house a koss off, where 
Annie had been. We remained all Saturday there; and, 
Sunday morning, the rajah’s people, hearing of the mutineers 
coming to Mithowlee, advised us to remove into the jungle. 
Here we are since yesterday morning exposed to the most 
trying heat without any shelter from the sun, except a few thin 
branches and a sheet we have put up. Moonshee Seetaram is 
with us, sharing our trouble. I was obliged to part with 
Bolakee and his party when we were coming here. A few 
of our faithful servants are hovering about. Our khidmutgars 
walked off with our forks and pots. Some of the rajah’s 
people feed us; but you may fancy what our appetites are. 
My poor wife, as usual, is bearing up with her misfortune like 
a saint, but is extremely weak. The rajah sends word that he 
will do his best to protect us. The troops from Mohumdee 
and Setapore are continually moving backwards and forwards 
between Setapore and Aurungabad; we cannot find out their 
intentions. Perhaps they will go to Delhi. Some talk of going 
there, some to Lucknow. They cannot, I hear, decide about 
the distribution of the money, and there might be a row. My 
opinion is, that they will all by degrees walk home. You must 
have heard of the massacre of Setapore : three men, one lady, 
and one child are here also, but separate from us. The rajah 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


193 


thinks it advisable to divide us, so as to have smaller parties. 
He is right. From what I can gather, I think that young 
Jackson, his sister, little Sophia Christian, and Barnes are in 
the number: I cannot make out the third name. The rajah 
sent me word, that when the mutineers leave the vicinity, he 
would try and send me to Lucknow. Show this to Sir H. 
Lawrence. Tell him that my being here is kept a profound 
secret. If in a few days something favourable turns up, we 
might be saved; but I fear nature will not stand much longer. 
I use my influence in behalf of the other fugitives in having 
food, &c., sent to them. They are in a house, but do not know 
where I am. For the safety of both parties, I have not 
attempted to see them. 

My dearest brother, I wrote you a long letter from Mohum- v 
dee on the 2nd or 3rd; but as the carnage at Setapore took 
place on that day, I do not think my letter could have reached 
you. In that I asked you to do your best, in case of our suc¬ 
cumbing to the dreadful privations we are subjected to (even 
water being with difficulty procurable), for our poor Pauline 
and Douglas. 

I heard to-day that two Europeans had escaped to Dile, and 
that John Hearsey had gone away somewhere on his elephant. 
Are any European regiments coming to Lucknow ? One 
regiment sent out towards Setapore would settle this part of 
the province. 

9th .—I could not send this off this morning. I managed to 
communicate with the other poor fugitives by letter to-day. 
Seetaram carried the letter. Their names are Sir M. Jackson 
and sister, little Sophia Christian, Barnes, and Quartermaster 
Sergeant, 10th Oude Irregulars. I have a servant to cook for 
us, and he feeds the poor people. The troops are still at 
Maholee. They cannot make up their minds as to their move¬ 
ments. This morning they went some distance toward Aurung- 

13 


194 


NARRATIVE OF 


abad with the intention of going to Delhi, but changed their 
minds again and returned to Maholee, en route to Lucknow. 
They are constantly quarrelling about the division of their 
booty; a small body of Europeans could snatch the money 
from them very easily. The men from Setapore have two 
lakhs, the Mohumdee detachment 1,10,000. The natives all 
seem to think that Muchee Bhawun is impregnable. The 
privations we are put to are indescribable, but the fearful heat 
beats all; we could put up with anything else. Annie is as 
well as can be expected. Poor Louisa is behaving like a sen¬ 
sible person, never once troubling for anything. I keep this 
open to the last in hopes of hearing from the mutineers’ camp. 

10.5 p.m. —The Passee came back last evening with the news 
that all the mutineers are collected at Maholee, but cannot make 
up their minds, they are quarrelling about the money. Some 
sepoys have as much as eight or nine hundred rupees each; 
such fellows will walk home. 

(Signed) P. J. Orr. 

It will be as well to mention* that during the night 
previous to the massacre, the native officer, Lutchmun, 
whose name is mentioned in Captain Orr’s letter, 
came to him privately, and, with tears in his eyes, 
supplicated him to leave the party and proceed to 
join his wife at Mithowlee, adding that the men had 
consented to allow him to leave the camp. Captain 
Orr replied that he could not abandon his friends at 
a time of such extreme danger, and that unless the 
whole party were allowed to go unmolested, his fate 
should be linked with theirs. Lutchmun, notwith- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


195 


standing Captain Orr’s reiterated questions, refused 
to be more explicit, throwing out merely dark hints 
as to the fate of the party, but urging and imploring 
Captain Orr to leave the camp. Lutchmun only left 
when he found his entreaties of no avail. 

The kindly interest show r n by Lutchmun, and sub¬ 
sequently by other men of his corps, towards Captain 
Orr, will be easily explained by a reference to a 
remark already made, that these men belonged to a 
corps raised and commanded by Captain Orr pre¬ 
vious to annexation. 

To render the letter that we have just transcribed 
more complete, it is merely necessary to add, that 
when the men, who had escorted Captain Orr to 
Mithowlee, reached their destination, they bound the 
rajah down under the most solemn oaths to protect 
Captain Orr, his wife, and child. To the list given in 
the letter of those that fell in the massacre at Aurung- 
abad must be added the names qf Mr. Thomason 
and of his two writers, Mr. Smith and his wife, and 
Mr. Hurst. Mr. Hurst had brought a small Bible 
with him, the pages of which were eagerly read by 
the doomed party on their way from Mohumdee 
towards Setapore. After the massacre the precious 
volume was picked up by the sole survivor and care¬ 
fully carried away. 


13—2 


196 


NARRATIVE OF 


The narrative now returns to the position of Mrs. 
Orr and her husband, which Captain Orr thus re¬ 
sumes. On that day (the 6th) the rajah sent word 
to Captain Orr that the number of Europeans under 
his protection had now become too considerable to 
admit of their being together at Kutcheanee, and 
that for safety sake he wished to locate them sepa¬ 
rately; consequently it was his desire that Captain 
and Mrs. Orr should leave the fort of Kutcheanee 
and betake themselves to the jungles (which abound 
at Mithowlee), and that the new arrivals should 
occupy Kutcheanee. Why the rajah thus wished 
to drive Captain Orr and his wife into the jungles, 
to make room for the new party, and why he did not 
rather choose for the latter the newly devised place 
of concealment is still a matter of mystery. How¬ 
ever, on the morning of the 7 th June, Captain Orr 
and his wife and child left the fort and proceeded 
about two miles to the jungle. By this term the 
reader must not understand a beautiful or even an 
ordinary forest , the noble trees of which would have 
afforded a grateful and necessary shade, but he must 
picture to himself a vast and dreary extent of land, 
covered, with the exception of a few patches here 
and there, with thorny brushwood, growing to the 
height of about two or three feet, totally incapable of 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


197 


affording shelter against the fierce and intolerable 
rays of the scorching sun of India, during this season 
of the year. What their sufferings were in this 
wilderness is touchingly described by Captain Orr 
himself in the letter already given. 

As night closed in our poor sufferers were obliged 
to leave the thickly studded portions of the jungle 
and remove to an open spot, in order, by lighting 
fires, &c. to scare away the tigers, wolves, and other 
wild animals, which infested the neighbourhood. 
The zemindar of Kutcheanee, one Bustee Sing, sent 
food, dal, and chuppatees, to the party. This food, of 
the coarsest description, was served on broad leaves 
tacked together with thorns. 

Captain Orr discovered with great difficulty that 
the fugitives that had arrived at Mithowlee from 
Setapore were—1st, Sir Mountstewart Jackson; 2nd, 
his sister. Miss Madeline Jackson; 3rd, Lieutenant 
Barnes, who had been doing duty with the 10th 
Regiment Oude Irregular Force; 4th, Sergeant- 
Major Morton, of the same corps; and 5th, Miss 
Sophia Christian, a little child of about three years 
of age. Since their removal from Mithowlee to 
the fort of Kutcheanee (after Captain Orr’s depar¬ 
ture from the latter place), Lonee Sing had com¬ 
pletely neglected them; but, as will be seen from his 


198 


NARRATIVE OF 


letter. Captain Orr did his utmost to provide for their 
wants. 

A few words will explain how Sir M. Jackson’s 
party reached Mithowlee. 

When the massacre at Setapore took place. Sir 
Monntstewart Jackson, with his sister. Miss M. Jack- 
son, effected his escape and fled from the canton¬ 
ment, wandering he knew not whither. In the same 
manner did Lieutenant Barnes, with Sergeant-Major 
Morton, escape, snatching up in their flight poor little 
Sophia Christian. After wandering, every moment 
in danger of their lives, through, to them, an un¬ 
known country, they were directed by some village 
people to Mithowlee as being the only place in the 
neighbourhood capable of affording them refuge. 
After enduring many hardships, the wanderers met 
in a village, a short distance from Mithowlee, and pro¬ 
ceeded in company to seek protection from the rajah. 

On their arrival, they were refused admittance into 
the fort, but Lieutenant Barnes, determined at all 
hazards to obtain an interview with Lonee Sing, 
boldly rushed through the wicket of the grand door¬ 
way, and thus forced an entrance; but in doing so, 
he was struck on the head by one of the retainers 
of the rajah and severely wounded. Lonee Sing, 
seeing him covered with blood, ordered him and his 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


199 


companions to be received into the fort. They were 
located in a common cowshed. It will be easy to 
imagine in what a sad plight Lonee Sing’s guests 
were ; completely worn out, as they were, by fatigue, 
their clothes or rather the little of them that still 
hung upon them in tatters, without any shoes, and 
their feet lacerated by the thorns of the jungle 
through which they had passed. 

They arrived at Mithowlee on the morning of the 
5th. In the night of the day following they were 
sent to Kutcheanee. 

In the meantime the troops from Shahjehanpore, 
Mohumdee, and Setapore were continually hovering 
about the neighbourhood, evidently uncertain what 
steps to take, whether to proceed to Lucknow 
and swell the rebel army there, or to march to 
Delhi. They at last assembled at Maholee, a place 
situated about fourteen miles from Mithowlee; but 
their presence in the vicinity caused our people much 
anxiety and discomfort, and obliged them constantly 
to change their place of concealment. At last, on 
the 18th of June, the troops were invited by Rajah 
Newab Alee to proceed to his place at Mahom- 
dabad, about twenty-eight or thirty miles north-east 
of Lucknow. This rajah was the first of his class 
in Oude to raise the standard of revolt, and has 


200 


NARRATIVE OE 


since shown himself the bitter enemy of the British. 
On the departure of the rebels from Maholee, Lonee 
Sing sent word to Captain Orr, that he might now 
return to Kutcheanee. 

This message was gladly received, as, by returning 
to the fort, shelter from the sun w r ould at last be 
obtained. Situated, as our people were, far from all 
aid, with no Europeans nearer than at Lucknow, and 
the whole country unfriendly, it will be readily sup¬ 
posed that communication with Lucknow was most 
difficult and uncertain; however, one faithful ser¬ 
vant, by name Purwannee, never for a moment 
thought of abandoning his master, Captain Orr, and 
by his means a letter was despatched to that officer’s 
youngest brother and to Sir Henry Lawrence, the 
then Chief Commissioner of Oude. 

Purwannee succeeded in reaching the capital, and 
brought back with him answers to Captain Orr’s 
letters, as also a purwannah addressed by Sir Henry 
Lawrence to Lonee Sing, ordering this latter to 
escort the whole party to Lucknow, and promising 
him handsome rewards on his arrival. Previous to 
this, the same request had already over and over 
again been made by Captain Orr to the rajah, 
who invariably replied that he should comply with 
it, and that to enable him to do so, he was collecting 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


201 


his men from the neighbouring villages, and the 
same answer did he give on perusal of Sir Henry 
Lawrence’s purwannah. It was evident that it was 
not his desire to get rid of the fugitives. He verily 
believed that the English rule was at an end, and 
that he might subsequently make better use of the 
Europeans now in his custody, than by making them 
over to the British authorities at Lucknow. 

On the 30th of June, 1857, after the disastrous 
affair at Chinhut, the siege of Lucknow had com¬ 
menced. The news of the victory the rebels had ob¬ 
tained at Chinhut spread far and wide into the dis¬ 
trict. Anarchy and confusion commenced; the boy 
Birjees Kudr, the supposed son of the ex-king Wajid 
Alee Shah, was placed on the throne, and a royal 
salute, in honour of the event, was fired at Mithow- 
lee, on the 5th, by Rajah Lonee Sing. Despair 
filled the hearts of our poor people as they heard 
the cannon sound from the ramparts of the fort of 
Mithowlee—despair which increased on the receipt 
of a message sent to them by the rajah, that they 
had better leave his place, as he could no longer 
protect them. Cruel mockery on his part!—whither 
could they go, surrounded as they were by danger 
on every side, and with no prospect of meeting with 
a friendly refuge to cheer them on, and induce them 


202 


NARRATIVE OF 


to take a hazardous journey? The very Passees, 
dependants of the rajah, set to protect, or perhaps 
rather to guard, the inmates of Kutcheanee, told them 
candidly on no account to leave their present place of 
refuge, as most probably, the moment they were out 
of his estate, he would behave treacherously towards 
them. In what agony of mind were they plunged!— 
helpless and without hope! The day passed in solemn 
silence, no one daring to offer consolation or hope, 
when none existed in the heart of any. Depart 
they, therefore, could not, but remained in their 
wretched place of confinement, each day passing on 
without affording a single ray of hope that their for¬ 
tunes would mend. The rajah continued to feed his 
prisoners (for such they must now be called), but 
allowing only four pounds of flour and a small pit¬ 
tance of ghee for the whole party. Fortunately, in 
her flight from Mohumdee, Mrs. Orr had contrived 
to carry a little money with her, and this was now 
of the greatest assistance, as she was enabled to add 
to the pittance given daily by the rajah, by pur¬ 
chasing supplies from a neighbouring market held 
every eighth day. 

We will now pass on to the end of July. The in¬ 
tervening period was passed miserably and sadly. 
It was well known that disasters had occurred at 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


203 


Chinhut and at Lucknow; but even that fatal news 
was by the rajah and his people distorted and ex¬ 
aggerated, and they were anxious to lead their cap¬ 
tives to believe that the Muchee Bhawun had fallen 
into the hands of the rebel soldiery, and that the 
Residency could not be held by the British for any 
length of time. It is now useless to add that the 
Muchee Bhawun had been abandoned and partially 
blown up by Sir Henry Lawrence himself, and that 
this story had merely been circulated in order to 
increase the horror of the situation in which our 
people were already plunged. As to the probability, 
or rather certainty, of the Residency falling into the 
hands of the enemy—an event so confidently calcu¬ 
lated upon by the rajah—the glorious and successful 
defence of that post by a handful of Europeans 
against the combined efforts of myriads of cowardly 
ruffians has already shown how the hopes of the 
rajah on that point were destined to be deceived. 
But the absence of all intercourse with their own 
countrymen left them in total and cruel ignorance of 
all that was being enacted in the country, and, with 
minds already overwrung with agony, they were 
forced almost, however reluctantly, to give credit to 
what was so industriously and with such apparent 
truth related to them. 


204 


NARRATIVE OF 


Besides the person mentioned in this narrative as 
having been saved from the massacre of Setapore, 
another party had also been fortunate enough to 
effect their escape. This party was guided in their 
wanderings to the fort of the Rajah of Dhowrairah, 
in Oude, by Captain John Hearsey, who had com¬ 
manded the 2nd Regiment Oude Military Police, then 
stationed at Setapore. Several persons composed 
this party; amongst others. Miss Georgiana Jackson, 
the sister of Sir Mountstewart Jackson. Towards 
the latter end of June, Captain Hearsey succeeded in 
communicating with our people at Kutcheanee, and 
it was with no little delight that Sir Mountstewart 
and his sister heard, for the first time, that their 
sister had also been saved. Alas ! her escape was 
only a temporary one! She, with several other com¬ 
panions, was treacherously betrayed by the Ranee of 
Dhowrairali, sent to Lucknow, and, on Sir James 
Outram’s advance on Lucknow, in September, 1857, 
cruelly put to death. 

W e must now introduce to the notice of the reader 
a person who was destined to exercise no little evil 
influence on the fate of those whose suffering forms 
the subject of these pages—we allude to one Zahoor- 
ool Hussein. Before the annexation of Oude, a 
friend at Bareilly had written to Captain Orr, re- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


205 


questing him to exert himself in procuring, in Oude, 
employment for this person, in whom he took great 
interest. Zahoor-ool Hussein, hearer of the letter 
above alluded to, presented himself, with all the 
appearance of poverty and wretchedness, to Captain 
Orr, in 1851. He was, of course, treated with great 
kindness, fed and clothed, and steps were taken to 
obtain a suitable situation for him. His accomplish¬ 
ments consisted in his being a good Persian scholar. 
After some unsuccessful efforts in other quarters, 
Captain Orr at last obtained for him the much- 
coveted appointment of vakeel of Lonee Sing, Rajah 
of Mithowlee. We say “ coveted,” because* being 
vakeel to a rajah or any influential landholder in 
Oude, was being entrusted with much power; the 
rajah seldom acting or taking any important step 
without consulting his vakeel; indeed, in many cases, 
the vakeel was, virtually, the master of the estate. 
Zahoor-ool Hussein, then, could not but consider his 
fortune made, when, through Captain Orr’s influence, 
so kindly exerted in his favour, he was appointed the 
vakeel of the Mithowlee raj. He was not long in 
ingratiating himself in his new master’s favour, and, 
to make use of a native expression, Lonee Sing only 
“ saw through his vakeel’s eyes.” Poverty was now 
exchanged for comparative affluence, and, day by 


206 


NARRATIVE OF 


day, Zahoor-ool Hussein saw how necessary he had 
made himself to the rajah’s comfort. Since the date 
of his appointment until that of annexation, Zahoor- 
ool Hussein had frequent interviews with Captain 
Orr, and when, after annexation, that officer was 
appointed to the district of Mohumdee, in a civil 
capacity, these interveiwg became necessarily very 
frequent; but, on every occasion, Zahoor-ool Hus¬ 
sein was loud in his expression of gratitude, and 
appeared ever to consider himself most deeply in¬ 
debted to his benefactor. 

The rebel durbar at Lucknow had now assumed 
the reins of government”; chuckledars and nazims 
(collectors of revenue) had been appointed to the dis¬ 
tricts ; and orders, very stringent, were issued to all 
talookdars or landholders in Oude, to present them¬ 
selves at Lucknow, either personally or through their 
vakeels, bringing with them as many as possible of 
their armed retainers to the aid and support of the 
rebel sepoys now wholly occupied in mad and de¬ 
sperate efforts to crush the garrison in the Lucknow 
Residency. Zahoor-ool Hussein was selected by 
Lonee Sing to represent his master at Lucknow. 
Towards the end of July, he left Mithowlee, with 
300 of Lonee Sing’s armed followers. But before 
liis departure, and from the time that our people had 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


207 


sought refuge at Mithowlee, never once did Zahoor- 
ool Hussein endeavour to mitigate the misery in 
which he saw them plunged, and although he visited 
them on two occasions, it was merely to give utter¬ 
ance to what he knew was false, or to raise hopes 
which he also knew the rajah had not the slightest 
intention of realizing. He had now fairly thrown 
off all allegiance to the British Government, and the 
representative of the rajah himself was proceeding to 
the capital to swell with his followers the ranks of 
the rebel army. A conversation, however, took place 
before his departure, between Zahoor-ool Hussein 
and Lonee Sing, which it is important to note. The 
vakeel inquired of his master whether on his arrival 
at Lucknow any mention was to be made at the dur¬ 
bar of the presence at Mithowlee of the Europeans. 
He was told that unless his master, the rajah, could 
derive some decided advantage by the disclosure, it 
was not to be made, but that should the rebel 
government offer any inducement for his doing so, 
the rajah would willingly forward his prisoners to 
Lucknow. This conversation was faithfully reported 
to Captain Orr by one Mehndee Hussein, one of the 
inferior karindas of the rajah, who had given seve¬ 
ral proofs of kindness towards the captives. It was 
then towards the latter end of July, that Zahoor-ool 


208 


NARRATIVE OF 


Hussein left Mithowlee for Lucknow. On the 6th 
August, towards evening, Lonee Sing sent word to 
his captives that he had received positive infor¬ 
mation that troops were on their way to Mithowlee 
from Lucknow, with orders to demand the persons 
of the Europeans under his protection, and that their 
safety required that they should leave the fort of 
Kutcheanee immediately, and take refuge once more 
in the jungles. Of the five Passees appointed by the 
rajah to watch over his victims, Captain Orr (whose 
long residence in Oude had made him well ac¬ 
quainted with all the habits and customs of its inha¬ 
bitants) had succeeded in gaining over two to his 
own cause. Suspecting treachery, one of these Pas¬ 
sees was, on the receipt of the rajah’s message, imme¬ 
diately, but secretly, despatched to gain intelligence ; 
he soon returned and stated that troops had actually 
reached within one day’s march of Mithowlee, that 
they numbered about 250 men, and belonged to five 
different regiments.* Matters had, to all appearance, 
now evidently come to a crisis; the rajah had com¬ 
menced his work of treachery. Zahoor-ool Hussein 

* This precaution of selecting men from different regiments 
was taken in order to remove, as much as possible, all fears of the 
captives winning the men over to their own interests, which, per¬ 
haps, it was thought, might have occurred had men from one 
regiment only been sent. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


209 


had almost immediately, on his arrival at Lucknow, 
divulged the whole truth, and had urged the durbar 
to send out a force to escort the hated Europeans to 
Lucknow. It will naturally be asked, why was the 
rajah anxious to remove our people from Kutcheanee 
to the jungles, as since he was determined to sacri¬ 
fice them to his own benefit, he could as easily have 
betrayed them whilst in the fort as in the jungle ? 
The answer is easily given: with that vile cunning 
so common to men of his country and class, he hoped 
to mask the real motive of his conduct by subse¬ 
quently, if occasion required, asserting that although 
by sending his guests to the jungle, he had done his 
utmost to conceal and save them, yet the presence 
of a large body of regular troops rendered all his 
precautions of no avail, and he was constrained to 
give up those whom he could no longer defend, and 
thus whilst from the rebel durbar he should reap 
applause and reward, he should at the same time be 
screened from all the evil consequences of his conduct 
should the British once more rule the country. On 
the night then of the 6th, at ten o’clock, our party left 
with aching hearts their retreat at Kutcheanee, and 
proceeded on foot, of course, once more to the jungle. 
They passed the dismal hours of the night in an 
opening for the reasons once before mentioned. The 

14 


210 


NARRATIVE OF 


guard of Passees were whispering amongst them¬ 
selves, evidently very earnestly; their conversation 
was partially overheard by one of the servants, 
who together with Purwannee, had remained faithful. 
This servant reported to Captain Orr that he sus¬ 
pected that all was not right, and that foul play was 
being contemplated. Captain Orr immediately sent 
for one of the Passees, who revealed the whole truth, 
saying that the rajah had sent him to the troops to 
give them information of the whereabouts of the cap¬ 
tives, and to guide them to the place of concealment. 
Will it be believed that 250 men were afraid to ac¬ 
complish the mission on which they had been sent ? 
They were actually afraid to encounter our small 
party, expecting to meet with a desperate resistance, 
and yet such was according to the report of the 
Passee actually the case—report subsequently verified 
by the result; for the troops returned empty-handed 
to Lucknow in September, not having dared, not¬ 
withstanding all the remonstrances of the rajah, to 
penetrate the dreaded jungle. Faithful to his own 
line of diabolical conduct, he himself refused to make 
over the captives to the sepoys, who had frequently 
desired him to do so. 

A sad and fearful time was it indeed to our poor 
people from August 6th, the date of their departure 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


211 


from Kutcheanee, until October 20th, and no pen can 
give an adequate description of their many and great 
sufferings. Ladies accustomed to the usual luxuries 
of life, two delicate little children, one but three 
years of age, a beautiful little blue-eyed creature, 
poor little Sophia Christian, whose thoughts con¬ 
stantly reverted to her mother, and who saddened 
the hearts of her companions by asking them where 
that beloved mother was; the other. Captain Orr’s 
own daughter Louisa, a little older, who bore up 
with all the dreadful trials and privations to which 
she, with her companions, was subjected, with asto¬ 
nishing patience and resignation, and lastly, four men 
already weakened in mind and body. Such was the 
party constrained to pass day after day during this 
long interval, exposed in a dismal jungle to the heat 
of the day, only tempered with the torrents of rain 
which in this season of the year are of such frequent 
occurrence: sickness had commenced to prostrate 
our people; the dreadful jungle-fever had shown 
itself; the servants could no longer attend to the 
wants of their master, and the ladies were forced to 
cook for the whole party. Small thin choppers made 
of the jungle grass and broad leaves, had indeed 
been erected as a protection from the rain, but this 
protection was but a partial and ineffectual one. 

14—2 


212 


NARRATIVE OF 


A small supply of quinine and of other medicines 
was obtained from Captain Hearsey’s party, but had 
arrived in a damaged state; still it was gratefully and 
thankfully received. 

On the 26 th of August, a letter reached Captain 
Orr from Captain Gordon, deputy-assistant adjutant- 
general at Cawnpore. This letter gave a detailed 
account of the horrible massacre at Cawnpore, but it 
also gave the cheering news of the shortly expected 
arrival of British troops from England, and, above 
all, of the march on Lucknow of the combined forces 
of Generals Outram and Havelock. Captain Gordon 
spoke confidently of the expected result of the opera¬ 
tions so soon to be undertaken by our troops; he 
told Captain Orr that he hoped that, ere long, we 
should be masters of Lucknow, and that he should 
have the pleasure of shaking hands with him. Such 
were that gallant officer’s hopes, and such were the 
hopes, as far as Lucknow was concerned, that filled 
the hearts of every soul that composed that force. 
They had a noble object in view; the fate of the 
brave and glorious garrison of Lucknow hung on a 
thread, and the awful vow muttered by the soldiers 
over the dreadful tomb of our countrywomen at 
Cawnpore was to be fulfilled. Every energy was 
strained, and all were eager to avenge the cruel 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


213 


death of those that had already fallen, and to save 
those still in such great jeopardy. How often was that 
letter read, and read again, laid down but to be once 
more taken up; and how was the hand that had 
penned the cheering lines blessed by the grateful 
hearts to whom, amidst the dreadful gloom, one ray 
of hope had been conveyed ! 

We will not dwell any longer on the interval 
which elapsed between the 6 th of August and 
20th of October,—an interval filled with hopes and 
fears, misery and distress. On the 19th of Sep¬ 
tember, 1857, the army under Generals Havelock 
and Outram crossed the Ganges at Cawnpore; and 
on the 20th, during a halt made to allow the 
baggage to be crossed over, a letter was received 
from Captain Orr by Brigadier-General Neil. This 
letter was immediately handed over by General Neil 
to General Outram. An answer returned to it, en¬ 
closing a purwanna signed by the General in his 
capacity of chief commissioner of Oude, to the 
address of Lonee Sing, instructing him to take the 
greatest care possible of the Europeans under his 
charge, and giving him the promise of a very high 
reward if he should succeed in screening them from 
danger. Sir James also informed Lonee Sing that 
he was at the head of an army marching against 


214 


NARRATIVE OF 


Lucknow, and that, after the capture of the city, an 
European detachment should be sent to Mithowlee 
to escort the refugees there to Lucknow. A letter 
was also addressed to Captain Orr by his eldest 
brother, then with Sir James’s camp, enclosing one 
to Lonee Sing on the all-important subject of those 
under his care, pointing out to him the advantage 
that would accrue to him were he faithful to his 
trust; and, on the contrary, the dreadful punishment 
that would await him should he prove treacherous. 
The letter received by Brigadier-General Neil was 
brought to camp by Purwanee, who was also the 
bearer of the answers which reached Mithowlee on 
the 26th of September. The rajah received the 
General’s purwanna in silence, and made to his cap¬ 
tives no observations regarding it. 

In the meanwhile important events had taken 
place at Lucknow. Generals Havelock and Outram 
had, with their troops, forced their way into the 
Residency. The undertaking was a most desperate 
one, and could scarcely have been attempted, had 
not the object in view been one of such vital import¬ 
ance ; and although that object was not then and there 
gained, and the relieving force was itself besieged, 
yet its presence within the walls of the Lucknow 
Residency cheered the weary hearts of the long- 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


215 


beleaguered garrison. A new stimulus was given to 
all, fresh defences were thrown up, sallies were made, 
and several of the enemy’s guns that most annoyed 
the besieged were captured; in short, though not 
then relieved, the garrison was fairly saved. But, 
however. General Outram’s design to send an escort 
to Mithowlee was most unfortunately defeated; com¬ 
munication with the world outside was kept up with 
the greatest difficulty; and, in fact, important de¬ 
spatches alone were, at enormous expense, conveyed 
at irregular intervals to Cawnpore. This will ex¬ 
plain why it was impossible to communicate with 
those at Mithowlee, to which place our narrative 
must now be carried back. It has already been 
stated that the detachment sent from Lucknow, at 
the instigation of the villain Zahoor-ool Hussein, had 
returned, empty handed, to Lucknow in September. 
On its arrival at the capital, Zahoor-ool Hussein, 
disappointed at not seeing his victims brought in, 
himself started for Mithowlee under a promise, on 
oath, to the rebel government that he would shortly 
return with those his master had so solemnly sworn 
to protect. Zahoor-ool Hussein went so far as 
to ask the durbar whether he should bring the 
captives alive, or whether their heads only were 
required. He was ordered to bring them in alive. 


216 


NARRATIVE OF 


Zahoor-ool Hussein reached Mithowlee one or two 
days before the rajah received General Outram’s pur- 
wanna. It so happened that this purwanna was put 
into Captain Orr’s hands at the time that Zahoor-ool 
Hussein had been chosen to pay a visit to the cap¬ 
tives. He, as well as the rajah, heard all the account 
given by Purwanee, read the General’s purwanna, 
but retired silently. 

All was again quiet at Mithowlee for some days 
after the arrival of the villain Zahoor-ool Hussein. 
The rajah was watching the course of events; 
before taking any decisive step, he wished to see 
the result of the operations at Lucknow. How 
cruelly and coolly was all calculated, and how 
cautiously did the villains carry on their fatal 
plot! They were soon convinced that the balance 
preponderated in favour of the rebel government, 
and that the days of the English were numbered. 
Preparations were therefore made to send the cap¬ 
tives to Lucknow, and on the morning of the 20th 
October, 1857, a party of 300 of Lonee Sing’s 
men, armed with matchlocks and swords, entered 
the jungle. Zahoor-ool Hussein was himself present, 
but kept at a short distance. Captain Orr had with 
him a pistol and a gun. The first act of the ruffians 
was to seize upon these arms; this was sufficient to 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


217 


throw a light upon their designs. Our party were 
all suffering from fever, which attacked them every 
other day; they were besides without clothes, except 
the rags that covered them, without shoes, and, above 
all, without any protection for the head; and in this 
state they were ordered to follow the men. In 
vain did they ask where they were to be taken— 
no answer was returned, but the order was again 
brutally given to move on. Sergeant-major Morton 
begged permission to take with him a piece of cloth 
which had served him as a carpet—this was refused. 
Mrs. Orr also wished to take with her a sheet, 
with which to cover her head as well as that of 
her little daughter; but one of the cowardly ruffians 
accompanied his refusal with a blow which levelled 
her with the ground. It is useless to attempt to 
describe the scene now before us; and could an 
accurate account be given, it would be one of a 
nature too harrowing. Let us then hurry on. Our 
party escorted by 300 men walked or rather dragged 
themselves on to the edge of the jungle, where two 
of the common country two-wheeled carts awaited 
them; they were told to mount, and the party pro¬ 
ceeded to a village, distant about a mile or a mile 
and a half. Here they halted, for another scene of 
brutal cruelty was to be enacted at this place. A 


218 


NARRATIVE OF 


native blacksmith soon made his appearance, bring¬ 
ing with him heavy fetters. Zahoor-ool Hussein 
was determined to fill the cup of revenge to the 
full; with savage foresight he had prepared every¬ 
thing ; no delay was to occur; the gentlemen of 
the party were to be laden with irons at once. 
Alas! at this indignity the mind of poor Barnes 
received a shock from which it never recovered. 
Morton, at the dreaded sight of the fetters, fell into 
a frightful convulsive fit, from which he with diffi¬ 
culty recovered, through the slight attentions which 
could be paid to him by his fellow-captives. Death 
at one moment seemed ready to terminate his suf¬ 
ferings ; the operation of fixing the fetters was sus¬ 
pended, but to be savagely renewed as soon as 
symptoms of returning life appeared. The heaviest 
pair of fetters were destined by Zahoor-ool Hussein 
for Captain Orr. His wife begged that the indig¬ 
nity might be dispensed with, falling down on her 
knees before the monsters; but a rude laugh was re¬ 
turned to all her supplications. The iron was fixed, 
and the order for the march given, Zahoor-ool 
Hussein ordering all the movements. Will it be 
believed that the piece of string which prisoners 
usually attach to the upper ring or joint of the 
fetters, to enable them with a little more ease to 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


219 


keep the irons in a position favourable to motion, 
was, with a refinement of cruelty, refused? The 
march lasted from the 20th to the 26th October; 
each day the sad procession started at 8 o’clock A.M., 
and continued with slight interruption until evening 
closed in. 

The sufferings from the sun were dreadful—a 
raging thirst tormented the poor captives, and no 
water was allowed to allay it. Food, such as it 
was, was thrown (let this expression be taken 
literally) to them at irregular intervals, and often 
did it happen that it was midnight ere they received 
the nauseous pittance. But if the bodily suffering 
was so great, the moral suffering was still greater; 
at every village passed, the poor prisoners were 
exhibited to the wondering villagers. 

What a triumph to the gaolers to hold in their 
power those, to whom a short time since, they had 
been accustomed to pay implicit respect, and whose 
word had been considered law! what a triumph to 
be able now to speak to them in the tones of the 
most cowardly insolence, and to load them with the 
most cruel indignity! We must not fail to note 
the order of the march: 150 of the armed force 
marched in front, with a cannon always kept ready 
for action, and 150 brought up the rear, further pro- 


220 


N ARE ATI YE OF 


tected bj another cannon, the prisoners in the centre. 
On approaching the capital on the 26th October, 
1858, the party was reinforced by three regiments 
of the line, and a swarm of cavalry. The Residency 
was carefully avoided, for beleaguered and besieged 
as it was, it was still an object of dread, and a cir¬ 
cuitous road was chosen to conduct the prisoners to 
the palace, the now notorious Kaiser Bagh. Before 
reaching this building, Captain Orr recognized a large 
detachment of sepoys, formerly belonging to his own 
regiment. The detachment was drawn up in one of 
the streets of the city, and as the prisoners’ carts passed 
by, many of the men were seen to cry violently. 

It will be remembered that it was a guard of this 
very corps that saved their former commandant’s 
life at the massacre at Nourungabad of the Shah- 
jehanpore fugitives. At some short distance from 
the Kaiser Bagh, the captives were made to dis¬ 
mount from the carts; they had hardly done so, 
when they were completely surrounded by a dense 
crowd, and progress was rendered most difficult. 
The reader will imagine the dreadful position of 
the captives, rudely and insultingly stared at by 
thousands exulting in the sight. Captain Orr 
snatched up his little daughter in his arms, expect¬ 
ing every moment to see her torn to pieces by the 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


221 


crowd. Mr. Barnes performed the same kind 
office towards little Sophia Christian. The thirst 
which had so long tormented the poor prisoners 
had now become intolerable, and in agony the 
ladies shrieked out for water. It was denied to 
them, until Munnoo Khan, the paramour of the 
Begum, whose son, Birjees Kudr, had been placed 
on the throne, and who, from the Kaiser Bagh, 
had been watching the progress of the captives, 
ordered water to be given to them; it was brought, 
but in such a vile vessel, that even situated as they 
were, the ladies refused to pollute their mouths with 
it. At last the agony was over—the party reached 
the smaller entrance of the Kaiser Bagh, the 
door was suddenly opened, the prisoners admitted, 
and it was as suddenly closed. The hated crowd 
was excluded; but seeing themselves separated from 
their prey, they raised a fearful yell and dispersed. 
Poor Sir Mountstewart Jackson had suffered much 
from frequent attacks of fever and ague; nature was 
fairly worn out, and it was a melancholy sight to see 
his frame utterly and hopelessly reduced to the last 
extremity by distress, sickness, and misery. On enter¬ 
ing the Kaiser Bagh, he fell down in a swoon; orders 
were given to some menials to place him on a charpoy. 

The whole party were now taken to their place of 


222 


NARRATIVE OF 


confinement, in a small miserable room in one of the 
numerous out-houses of the Kaiser Bagh, attached 
to the stabling, a guard of twelve men in the 
Ukhturree Regiment was posted at the door as a 
watch. During the first day of their confinement, 
one Meer Wajid Alee, of whom more afterwards, 
was present with the guard. He had the humanity 
to give to the prisoners the dinner prepared for 
himself. At midnight the place of confinement was 
changed for another one more roomy, and better 
in all respects, the guard was considerably increased, 
and always kept their swords drawn. 

To render the subsequent portion of our narrative 
more intelligible, we will give a hurried sketch of the 
state of affairs at the Oude rebel durbar. Twelve 
regiments had been raised by the British Govern¬ 
ment on annexation; of these regiments the greater 
number had previously belonged to the Oude service. 
This force, including also several regiments of cavalry, 
was styled the Oude Irregular Force. At the com¬ 
mencement of the siege of Lucknow, it was by these 
troops, composed by most part of Oude men, that the 
claims of the king were made in the person of a boy 
ten or twelve years of age, his name Birjees Kudr, 
the supposed son of the ex-king, Wajid Alee, but the 
real offspring of one Munnoo Khan. The mother of 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


223 


this boy had originally been a dancing girl, with whom 
Munnoo Khan, then holding a subordinate charge in 
the royal cook-room, had formed an intimacy. The 
king, hearing of the girl’s beauty, admitted her to 
the number of his mahuls, under the title of “ Huzrut 
Mahul.” She received a handsome allowance, with a 
large establishment, of which she appointed Munnoo 
Khan the darogah or superintendent. The former 
intimacy was still, though secretly, carried on, and 
resulted in the birth of the boy Birjees Kudr. On 
the elevation of Birjees Kudr to the throne, or rather 
on his being created Wazier of Oude—for his authority 
was at first held subordinate to that of the emperor of 
Delhi—his mother and Munnoo Khan enjoyed an 
amount of power, checked only by the caprices of the 
troops to whom their elevation had been due. Mun¬ 
noo Khan was a man of no talent whatsoever, and 
alike wanting in that courage, both moral and physi¬ 
cal, so requisite in a person in the critical position 
which he now held. 

As to the Meer Wajid Alee, whom we have already 
had occasion to name, he held with regard to another 
Begum, known as the Sooltan Mahul, the same posi¬ 
tion as did Munnoo Khan with regard to the Huzrut 
Mahul, nominally the darogah of her household, in 
reality living with her on the most intimate terms, the 


224 


NARRATIVE OF 


king the dupe of both these women. Between Meer 
Wajid Alee and Munnoo Khan, however, exists this 
great difference; the former is of a respectable family 
of Syuds, the latter of low origin; the former has 
received what amongst the Maliomedans of Central 
India is considered a good education, the latter is 
almost ignorant of even the art of reading and writing 
his own language. Wajid Alee had charge of the 
financial arrangements of the durbar. 

Two or three days after the arrival at Lucknow of 
the English prisoners, this event became known to 
the Lucknow garrison. Some of the British scouts 
had already given information that certain English 
prisoners had been brought to Lucknow from the 
district, but their information was vague. It was, 
however, shortly confirmed by one of Rajah Maun 
Sing’s Moonshees, who presented himself within the 
British entrenchment, the bearer of a letter from 
his master to Sir James Outram. This person gave 
all particulars; and through him, with the sanction of 
the general, communication was held with the cap¬ 
tives ; a letter was received written by Captain Orr 
and signed by all his companions, stating that Meer 
Wajid Alee, Munnoo Khan, and Maun Sing were 
showing them kindness, and that their fetters had 
been removed. Maun Sing himself wrote to the 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


225 


general and also to Captain Orr’s brothers, both of 
whom were in the Lucknow garrison, that he would 
exert himself to the best to save the captives. 
Although Rajah Maun Sing had in his letter some¬ 
what exaggerated the extent of his kind offices towards 
them, and had given the general and Captain Orr’s 
brothers to understand that he had caused the fetters 
to be removed, yet it was subsequently discovered 
that it was to Meer Wajid Alee that the gentlemen 
were indebted for this act of kindness. 

Maun Sing certainly rendered signal service in 
facilitating communication with Wajid Alee; and 
here let us state once for all, that the behaviour of 
this man was from the very first invariably kind and 
considerate, and above all, full of respect. It appears 
from his conversation with Mrs. Orr, that he had 
endeavoured to prevent the massacre in the city of 
nineteen persons (amongst whom was Miss Georgiana 
Jackson, the sister of Sir Mountstewart) on the 
memorable day of the entrance into Lucknow of the 
troops under Generals Havelock and Outram; un 
fortunately they were in the custody of the Delhi 
troops, then under the complete influence of the 
moulvie,* and to have spoken or acted openly in 

* Note by Captain Hutchinson.—This was the moulvie alluded 
to before at Eyzabad. 


15 


226 


NARRATIVE OF 


their favour would certainly have caused the death 
of Meer Wajid Alee. From the 26th October to 
the 16th November, the prisoners received frequent 
visits from Munnoo Khan. His object was to per¬ 
suade Sir Mountstewart Jackson and Captain Orr to 
write, the one to his uncle, Mr. C. C. Jackson, the 
other to Sir James Outram, that the durbar was 
willing to release the prisoners and to allow the gar¬ 
rison to leave the city unmolested should the British 
consent to abandon Oude entirely. Both officers 
refused to be the channel of communication of this 
proposition, persuaded as they were that should the 
British, on the faith of the rebels, leave the Residency, 
the Cawnpore tragedy would again be enacted. Fail¬ 
ing in this purpose, Munnoo Khan, through one of 
his agents, sent word to the officers, that since they 
refused to write they must head the troops in their 
assaults on the beleaguered garrison, cast shells, &c. 
This the officers indignantly refused to do, and plainly 
told Munnoo Khan that nothing could induce them 
to join the rebel army against their own countrymen. 
On hearing this Munnoo Khan left the room and 
mentioned the circumstance to one of the men of the 
guard, who ferociously made a fearful sign, passing 
his finger across his throat; this sign did not pass 
unobserved by Mrs. Orr and her husband, who felt 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


227 


that the last hour was come, and told their poor 
companions to prepare for the worst: but it did not 
suit Munnoo Khan then to carry the threat into 
execution. 

Everything tended to make the position of the 
prisoners as dreadful as possible. The nature of 
the feelings towards them of their gaolers had been 
sufficiently manifest; and their feeling would, it 
was feared, but be increased by the refusal of the 
officers to act in a manner dishonourable to them¬ 
selves. As to their personal comforts, they were 
but scanty. They received food indeed, but it 
was given in small quantities, and only proved 
sufficient because several of the poor captives were 
in too sickly a state to partake of it. Poor Sir 
Mountstewart was wasting away. Morton, for days 
together, refused to touch food of any kind. Barnes 
was all but insensible to all external events. Captain 
Orr was so changed, that even those who in Oude 
had for years past been intimately acquainted with 
him, could not recognize him. If such was the fear¬ 
ful change that had taken place in the person of the 
gentlemen, how much more startling must it not 
have been with regard to the ladies, Mrs. Orr and 
Miss Jackson! Their clothes, even in the jungles, 
had already long since been in tatters; they were 

15—2 


228 


NARRATIVE OF 


now entirely in rags. Their hair was completely 
matted, deprived as they were of combs and brushes, 
or, in fact, of all those little articles of toilet so ne¬ 
cessary to ensure cleanliness. In a word, body and 
mind alike suffered, the sufferings of the one, in fact, 
increasing the suffering of the other. The poor little 
children, too—what a fate was theirs ! 

We have already stated that, through the kindness 
of Wajid Alee, the fetters had been removed from 
the legs of the gentlemen. The moulvie had by 
some means been informed of this, and he sent one of 
his men to ascertain exactly the fact. Fortunately, 
Wajid Alee heard of the circumstance, and, bribing 
handsomely the spy, induced him to report to the 
moulvie that the fetters had not been discontinued. 

We have nothing new to relate until the arrival of 
Sir Colin Campbell to effect the relief of the besieged 
garrison. Some letters, it is true, had been sent by 
Captain Orr to the Residency, and answers returned, 
but some of the former only reached their destination 
long after date. In the meanwhile, during all this 
dreary period, alternate hopes and fears had been 
entertained at the Residency regarding the probable 
fate of the captives. General Outram wrote in 
strong language to Rajah Maun Sing, enforcing upon 
him the necessity of saving the lives of the prisoners. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


229 


and assuring him that this act alone would convince 
him that the rajah was sincere, on his protestations 
of fidelity. Indeed, Maun Sing wrote on several 
occasions to the general on his own account, hut in¬ 
variably received the assurance that the rescue from 
captivity and death of the prisoners was the sine qua 
non of his ultimately receiving pardon. But alas ! it 
was doomed that the warmest and most earnest hopes 
were to be disappointed. Wajid Alee had latterly 
been obliged to discontinue his visits to the captives. 
He had for some time past been, by the fiend moul- 
vie, suspected of showing too much kindness to the 
prisoners; and so bitter was the feeling of the moulvie 
on this account towards Wajid Alee, that the latter 
was obliged to conceal himself during four days in 
the city. Fortunately, Munnoo Khan could not dis¬ 
pense with his services, and plainly told the chiefs of 
the rebel army, that unless Wajid Alee was pro¬ 
tected from the menaces of the moulvie, and allowed 
to resume his duties, he (Munnoo Khan) could not 
carry on his own. Wajid Alee was consequently, 
under a most solemn promise of protection, allowed 
to return to the Kaiser Bagli; but of course he was 
obliged to be very cautious in his rare interviews 
with the captives. On the 14th November, heavy 
firing was heard in the suburbs of the city. The 


230 


NARRATIVE OF 


guard placed over the prisoners immediately got 
under arms, and the jemadar, or native officer in 
command, was heard to give strict orders not to allow 
either Munnoo Khan or Meer Wajid Alee to com¬ 
municate with the prisoners. This day, and that of 
the 15th, were passed in the most wretched anxiety. 
Great tumult and uproar reigned in the Kaiser Bagh; 
so great, indeed, that it prevented the prisoners from 
hearing the cannonading of Sir Colin’s advancing 
army. On the 16 th November, a large body of men 
of the 71st Native Infantry rushed towards the room 
where the captives were lodged. They were com¬ 
pletely equipped, wearing the cross-belts over their 
own native clothes. On their arrival, the former 
guard withdrew; and all the inmates of that wretched 
room were ordered, in language too brutal to be re¬ 
peated, to rise and come forward. Not a word was 
spoken by our poor countrymen, who rose with some 
difficulty. We cannot describe the solemn and awful 
scene, and with harrowed feelings we will drop the 
veil over what is perhaps too sacred to be revealed. 
Another person, evidently in authority, now appeared 
and whispered some orders into the ear of the man 
commanding the party of the 71st. This order it 
was soon discovered was to leave the ladies where 
they were, and to drag the officers away. All felt 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


231 


in that dreadful hour that the fiat had gone forth; 
the poor children uttered a loud shriek, as if their 
tender reason was about to abandon them; a solemn 
adieu was said by Sir Mountstewart Jackson and 
Captain Orr to those they had loved so much; 
cords were produced, the prisoners, undaunted in 
spirit even at this dreadful moment, allowed them¬ 
selves calmly to be bomid, and soon were seen no 
more. A rattle of musketry was heard by those 
who had been left behind, although its fearful tale 
was not then understood by them; nor even was 
it revealed for some time afterwards, as the native 
guard persisted, when questioned on the subject, in 
saying that some native prisoners had been put to 
death, and that the English captives were still in 
the custody of the 71st Regiment. Whether this 
false statement was made from motives of pity, or 
from some other reason, it is difficult to say. It 
was on the 7th January, 1858, that Wajid Alee, 
being repeatedly interrogated by Mrs. Orr, dis¬ 
closed the truth, adding that the crime had been 
committed at the instigation of the moulvie. But 
to continue—the jemadar of the guard which had 
been placed over them was in the habit, now and 
then, of leaving his charges to assist in pointing 
the guns of one of the numerous batteries of the 


232 


NARRATIVE OF 


Kaiser Bagh—lie was considered a good shot, and 
was rewarded by a donation of 500 rupees for 
having, by a round shot, knocked down the British 
flag which Sir Colin’s victorious troops had placed 
on one of the turrets of the Khoor Sheid Munzil,* 
and which was known to the English residents of 
Lucknow under the designation of the mess-house of 
her Majesty’s 32nd Regiment. This jemadar was 
of a brutal disposition, and was killed at his battery by 
one of our shots on the 15th November. He was 
succeeded by another jemadar, who, though bad 
enough, was still a little less cruel than his predeces¬ 
sor. After the enactment of the scene just described 
as having occurred on the 16th, the ladies had 
apparently been forgotten, and for two whole days 
no food had been sent to them—a few morsels of dry 
chuppatees, the remnants of former repasts, had 
fortunately been carefully preserved, and these, 
moistened with water, were now and then given to 
the children when oppressed with hunger. At last 
the jemadar reported to his superior officer, that 
either the prisoners must be fed, or he must be 
relieved of his charge; a person styling himself 
“ adjutant,” came to verify the jemadar’s statement. 
Finding the account had not been exaggerated, he 
* Khoor Sheid —the sun ; Munzil —house, edifice. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


233 


gave one rupee to the jemadar with which to procure 
food. Rice and dall were now given to the ladies, 
and this food was cooked by the camp followers in 
the British service, who had fallen into the hands of 
the enemy. Preparations were now being made for 
the masterly operations by which the garrison of 
Lucknow was to be relieved. A sham bombarding 
of the Kaiser Bagh was commenced. The house in 
which the ladies was confined was not secure from 
the effects of the iron hail, and the guard, fearing 
probably for their own safety, were seriously think¬ 
ing of cruelly getting rid of their charge; but mon¬ 
strous as they were, they one by one refused to strike 
the first blow. At this juncture their good genius, 
Wajid Alee, once more appeared to the aid of the 
ladies, and he persuaded the jemadar to conduct his 
prisoners to their former abode, the stables: much 
confusion existed, and Wajid Alee seized upon the 
opportunity thus afforded to renew his visits, although 
these visits were few and far between, and made 
under disguise. 

The Lucknow garrison had now been relieved; 
women and children, sick and wounded, had all most 
providentially been extricated from their perilous 
situation, and the two forces, the relieving and the 
relieved, marched on to the Alumbagh. 


234 


NARRATIVE OE 


Sir Colin hastened on to the relief of Cawnpore, 
then invested by the Nana and the Gwalior troops. 
Sir James Outram, with a very inadequate force, 
was to hold the Alumbagh, a position which was 
considered a most important one. Great was the 
joy, at Lucknow, of the rebels, as our forces aban¬ 
doned the city ; in their madness, they thought they 
were delivered for ever of their hated enemies, and 
that the force left by Sir Colin at Alumbagh merely 
waited for reinforcements to join the Commander-in- 
Chief; not reflecting that, had a complete abandon¬ 
ment of the province been finally determined upon, 
Sir James Outram’s force would naturally have 
either at once joined the body of the army, or at 
least have at once followed it; but they were 
blinded. In their mad joy, they at once released 
nearly two hundred native prisoners; but this error, 
on their part, was most providential, as our captive 
countrywomen were for a time forgotten. It was 
with an aching heart that they were told by the 
jailors that the British had left the Residency ; the 
last faint hope of delivery seemed destroyed for ever; 
and their sorrow was increased by a sad event which 
occurred on or about the 24th of November. Poor 
little Sophie Christian had, during the long period 
which our narrative embraces, been struggling with 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


235 


sickness and hardship; her poor little frame had 
been shattered by repeated attacks of fever and dy¬ 
sentery ; but although she had appeared latterly to 
rally, yet nature was completely exhausted, and on 
the day alluded to, the 24th of November, the poor 
little angel laid her down and slept. Death passed 
his hand gently over her; her beautiful eyes closed 
softly, as if in gentle sleep; and before her com¬ 
panions could perceive the change, her infant spirit 
had fled for ever from the scene of danger and of 
miser}^ Through the kindness of a man of the 
guard, himself the father of a large family, and upon 
whom Mrs. Orr had imposed a solemn oath, and also 
by bribing another person to lend his services in 
the performance of the sad ceremony, Mrs. Orr and 
Miss Jackson had the melancholy satisfaction of 
knowing that, during the dark hours of the ensuing 
night, the remains of the little girl were carefully 
confided to the earth. This event naturally cast a 
gloom over minds already wrung to the utmost by 
apprehension, anxiety, and grief. Day after day 
passed away without bringing any comfort—indeed, 
perhaps, more painfully than the preceding one. 
Their food, instead of being cooked separately, was 
but a small portion of the general mess prepared 
for their native prisoners; and coarse native clothes. 


236 


NARRATIVE OE 


already worn, were given in lieu of the tattered rem¬ 
nants of their English garments. 

Captain Orr’s brother had been attached to 
General Sir J. Outram’s staff, in the intelligence 
department, and, after many efforts, they succeeded 
in establishing communication with Wajid Alee, and, 
through his kindness, with the prisoners, to wdiom 
they were enabled to send secretly and with extreme 
caution a small supply of the most necessary medi¬ 
cines, and of tea. A few letters were received by 
either party, but very irregularly, and at long inter¬ 
vals. Communication was also held from the Alum- 
bagh with Meer Wajid Alee, and with Maun Sing’s 
vakeel; for Maun Sing himself had left Lucknow 
for his own residence at Shahgunge, or at least had 
pretended to do so. 

It is impossible to appreciate the kindness of 
General Outram, in all his constant endeavours, by 
threats and promises, by offers of several rewards, to 
secure the safety of the prisoners; and to him, under 
Providence, are our countrywomen most deeply in¬ 
debted for their subsequent release. Wajid Alee 
gave a solemn promise, to effect, if possible, the 
deliverance of the captives; he made this promise 
not only to General Outram, but confirmed it in the 
presence of the ladies by a sacred oath, swearing on 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


237 


the heads of his own children. This is the most 
binding of all oaths amongst natives. But how, 
amidst the many intricate passages of the Kaiser 
Bagh, exposed from every side to the gaze of the 
soldiery crowded within its walls, could the prisoners 
be withdrawn? As a preliminary step, Wajid Alee, 
through his influence with Munnoo Khan, repre¬ 
senting that the health of the captives was affected, 
removed them to a house nearer to one of the main 
roads of the city, and also, as much as possible, 
spread in the city the report that the ladies had been 
killed by a shot from the British entrenchments. 

One Anunt Ram, the vakeel of Rajah Maun 
Sing, sometimes accompanied Wajid Alee in his 
visits to the captive ladies, and it was about the 
month of January that Anunt Ram suggested the 
idea of secretly carrying away Mrs. Orr’s little 
daughter, Louisa, and rescuing her from captivity. 
Wajid Alee entered warmly into the plans proposed 
to be adopted by Anunt Ram. Food was sent very 
irregularly to the natives; and in fact, during a tem¬ 
porary absence from his home of Wajid Alee, it was 
■withheld altogether, under pretext of putting a stop 
to this evil, but in reality with a far different object 
in view. Wajid Alee engaged for the ladies the 
services of a native woman, a resident of Lucknow. 


238 


NARRATIVE OF 


This woman was a rough, masculine creature, pos¬ 
sessed of much ready wit and courage, and admir¬ 
ably adapted for the part she was destined to play. 
The native physician of the court was a kind- 
hearted man, and his conduct on more than one 
occasion showed that he was touched at the sight 
of the sufferings of our countrywomen. Wajid 
Alee sought his assistance, and easily persuaded 
him to report to the durbar that the child was 
dangerously ill, and that he had no hopes of her 
recovery. This report was sent in daily; but it 
was necessary also to gain over the commandant 
of the corps, which furnished the guard over the 
prisoners ; this man, however, at once refused to 
connive at the escape of the little prisoner, and 
Wajid Alee was plunged into no little anxiety at 
having been obliged to divulge his secret to this 
person, who would in all probability have made the 
whole plot public, had he not been restrained by 
the fact of his owing his own appointment to the 
kindness of Wajid Alee. Although the scheme 
had failed, yet Wajid Alee did not despair of 
success through other means. He allowed several 
days to pass apparently in inactivity, he treated 
the commandant with the greatest kindness, but in 
the meanwhile he adroitly persuaded Munnoo Khan 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


239 


to employ the commandant’s regiment in levying 
contributions of money (then urgently required) on 
the principal inhabitants of Lucknow. For this 
purpose all the guards of the regiment were with¬ 
drawn from their posts, and relieved by men from 
other regiments. This arrangement, it will easily 
be understood, pleased the commandant vastly, as 
it afforded him and his men an opportunity of 
enriching themselves. Having succeeded thus far, 
Wajid Alee took care that the new, or relieving 
guard over the prisoners should he composed of men 
of his own choice, who received orders not to allow 
any person to communicate with the prisoners, and 
if questioned as to the nature of their duty, to state 
that they were placed as a guard over the stables. 
The hakeem, or physician, once more made his 
daily reports to the durbar of the bad state of the 
little girl’s health. The commandant, suspecting 
that Wajid Alee was again favouring her escape, 
reported the circumstance to Munnoo Khan, who 
immediately sent a person, by name Ally Jan, to 
ascertain whether little Louisa was in reality as ill 
as reported. Ally Jan was on terms of friendship 
with both Munnoo Khan and Wajid Alee, but 
more especially with the latter, to whom he con¬ 
stantly reported all that occurred at the durbar 


240 


NARRATIVE OF 


and at tlie councils of the rebel chiefs of the 
army, to the latter of which Wajid Alee was not 
admitted. It is needless to say that Ally Jan 
made a favourable report. The hakeem now re¬ 
ported that the supposed invalid had ceased to 
exist. The guard was only bribed by Wajid 
Alee, its commanding officer himself receiving 300 
rupees. On the eighth day all was ready—the 
hands, feet, and legs of the little girl had been 
coloured so as to resemble in tint those of a native 
child. She was covered as much as possible w r ith 
a cloth, and confided to the care of the woman 
before mentioned. To give as great an appear¬ 
ance of reality as possible to the whole transaction, 
Wajid Alee had instructed the jemadar of the 
guard to depute one of his men to demand of 
Munnoo Khan the money necessary to defray the 
expenses of the burial. The woman, accompanied 
by the jemadar himself, now left the place, carry¬ 
ing the precious burden on her back, bemoaning 
and lamenting her pretended loss with all the ges¬ 
tures and usages of native women on such occa¬ 
sions. Her acting was perfect, and with great 
presence of mind she passed all the guards without 
attracting suspicion; she was guided, though very 
secretly, by the jemadar to Rajah Maun Sing’s 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


241 


city residence, whence shortly afterwards she 
was removed by Anunt Ram to one of Maun 
Sing’s forts, and thence, eventually, after the 
lapse of several days, to the British camp at the 
Alumbagh; but the passage through the city and 
the journey to the fort in the district were not 
accomplished without incurring great risk at Chin- 
hut (a short distance from Lucknow). Anunt Ram 
and his party had to pass through the camp of the 
moulvie, who had suddenly and without the know¬ 
ledge of Anunt Ram encamped at that place. The 
moulvie’s troops challenged the party, and it required 
all the skill of Anunt Ram to satisfy the questions 
put to him. It would be difficult to describe the 
feeling of the mother when the moment of separa¬ 
tion had arrived—nothing but the ardent desire to 
see her child safe from all danger, could have induced 
her to overcome all doubts and fears, and to confide 
her beloved child to the care of strangers. 

General Sir James Outram had now left Alum¬ 
bagh to take command of a strong division on the 
other side of the Goomtee. The bombardment of the 
city had commenced in right earnest. During three 
days the ladies were exposed to much danger, the 
shells falling near, and indeed on one occasion on the 
very building in which they were lodged. Wajid 

16 


242 


NARRATIVE OF 


Alee consequently obtained permission to remove liis 
charge to another house in the city: to effect this 
the ladies were both placed in one doolee, which, 
however, had not proceeded far when it was stopped 
by the sentry at the grand doorway of the Kaiser 
Bagli. The soldier said he would not allow the doolee 
to pass without seeing the hands and feet of those 
inside. This was an anxious and critical moment, 
but Wajid Alee, foreseeing everything, had bribed 
an old chobdar of the former time, a man who had 
well known Captain Orr, from whom he had fre¬ 
quently received presents, to accompany the ladies. 
As soon as the sentry had uttered his wish to examine 
the hands and feet of the occupants of the doolee, 
the old chobdar immediately came forward, and with 
ready answer told him that the doolee contained one 
of the favourite begums, who was proceeding to pay 
her devotions at one of the holy shrines in the city, 
and that she would return to the palace the next 
morning. The old man pretended great indignation 
at the sentry having had the audacity to threaten to 
remove the purdah of the conveyance, and in fact 
spoke and managed so well, that the bewildered 
sepoys allowed the doolee to pass without further 
opposition clear of the Kaiser Bagh. Many dangers 
still awaited our party whilst passing through streets 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


243 


crowded with lawless and independent soldiers, but 
Providence guided them, and they reached their 
destination in safety, followed by the guard, supposed 
by the passers -by to be one of honour accompanying 
a native lady of high rank. Of course the con¬ 
fusion reigning in the city at the time favoured the 
passage of the party; but still the new abode was 
not secure against the messengers of death hurled 
by the British against the doomed city, and Wajid 
Alee removed to yet another house in the suburbs 
occupied by the Sultan Mahul, and Wajid Alee’s 
wife and children, as well as by his brother-in-law’s 
family. Here the ladies were most kindly received, 
clothes provided for them, and all their wants, as much 
as possible, attended to. The British, already masters 
of the Kaiser Bagh and of the principal buildings in 
the city, were driving the enemy from its outskirts, 
a portion of which was still held by the moulvie. 
The monster had long suspected Wajid Alee of being 
friendly to the English, and his object was to seize 
him as he had seized Shurfood Dowlah, the minister, 
under the rebel administration. Communication with 
the British camp, though often interrupted, was still 
kept up with Wajid Allee, who was plunged in the 
greatest anxiety regarding the safety of the ladies 
and of his own large family. 


244 


NAEKATIYE OE 


The moulvie had discovered on the 18th March 
the abode of Wajid Alee, who through his own in¬ 
formants, had been made well aware of the designs 
of his enemy. The position in which the ladies now 
found themselves was most critical, for although the 
British, as we have before stated, were masters of 
the principal portions of the city, yet the moulvie 
with a considerable force still held a position in the 
suburbs. On the night of the 17th or 18th March, 
Wajid Alee wrote to Captain Orr’s brother, pointing 
out the extreme danger in which he was placed, and 
begged assistance without delay. This letter was 
shown to Sir J. Outram, who communicated, we 
believe, on the subject with General Macgregor, then 
with the Gorkha troops most providentially in the 
neighbourhood of Wajid Alee’s house; but the 
danger was imminent, the moulvie with his men 
was hourly expected, and no time was to be lost. 
Wajid Alee begged of Mrs. Orr to write a note, ex¬ 
plaining the difficulties and danger by which she w T as 
surrounded, to the address of any British officer; 
this note he should cause to be conveyed to the 
nearest British post. Mrs. Orr wrote a few lines 
which were confided to Wajid Alee’s brother-in- 
law. This person, however, had hardly left the 
house when he encountered a body of Gorkhas 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


245 


under the command of two British officers, Captains 
MacNeil and Bogle. He immediately explained to 
them the nature of his errand, and led the way to 
the house. 

The moulvie was already coming in the same 
direction from another quarter. The officers rushed 
into the house, and without the loss of a moment 
placed the ladies in a palanquin : no bearers could 
be found, but the servants of the officers and some 
Gorkhas were pressed into the service, and Captain 
MacNeil, accompanying the palanquin, commenced 
his perilous journey, leaving Captain Bogle with the 
Gorkhas to escort Wajid Alee and his family. It 
must be remembered that Captain MacNeil had to 
pass through narrow streets entirely devoid of 
British troops, and about which the enemy were 
still hovering, and that he might at every moment 
expect an attack, or at all events a ball from some 
hidden assassin. Captain MacNeil, however, rushed 
on, urging and encouraging his party to make the 
most strenuous efforts. The Char Bagh ravine was 
reached and crossed, and a little farther General 
Magregor’s camp came in sight; on—on—swiftly 
was the palanquin borne; the friendly camp is 
at length gained, and the ladies are safe. It is need¬ 
less to say how kindly and cordially the ladies were 


246 


NARRATIVE OF 


received by General Macgregor and his officers. 
Every attention was shown to them, and on the next 
day, the 20th March, they were escorted to General 
Sir J. Outram’s camp, where Mrs. Orr had the 
inexpressible delight of once more clasping her 
daughter in her arms. 

But we must return to Captain Bogle, the brave 
companion of Captain MacNeil. With much diffi¬ 
culty and at much risk he succeeded in escorting 
the whole of Meer Wajid Allee’s family to General 
Macgregor’s camp. The difficulty of his enterprise wil 1 
be better understood by those acquainted with native 
manners and customs. To these officers our once 
captive countrywomen are indeed much indebted 
for the gallantry and presence of mind that they 
displayed on the occasion, when delay or hesitation 
would have been fatal. In after years the souvenir 
of the deed performed by Captains MacNeil and 
Bogle at Lucknow will not be reckoned as the least 
among pleasurable reminiscences. 

We will now conclude. We have accompanied our 
countrymen step by step amidst danger and death, and 
have given to our readers a faithful, and we hope 
not an uninteresting narrative of what they suffered. 
Many details have been omitted in order not to clog 
unnecessarily the statement of more important events. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


247 


Let it not be understood that we have intentionally 
placed Captain Orr and liis wife more prominently 
before our readers than we have done their equally 
unfortunate and suffering companions. Their intimate 
knowledge of the country and of its language and 
customs necessarily, on most occasions, constrained 
them to take a leading part in their every-day inter¬ 
course with the natives. We must, however, make 
mention of one circumstance, the nature of which 
cannot but strike the most callous minds, before the 
final separation of the gentlemen from the ladies in 
the Kaiser Bagh. Mrs. Orr had occasion to send 
for some native medicines ; they were brought to her 
wrapped up in a piece of printed paper. On glancing 
her eyes over it, Mrs. Orr perceived that it was a 
portion of a leaf of a Bible, and contained the follow¬ 
ing passage of Isaiah, chap, li., ver. 11 : “ They shall 
obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning 
shall flee away. I, even I, am He that comforteth 
you : who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of 
a man that shall die, and of the son of man which 
shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy 
Maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and 
laid down the foundations of the earth; and hast 
feared continually every day because of the fury of 
the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and 


248 


NARRATIVE OF 


where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile 
hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should 

not die in the pit, nor that-” 

(Signed) A. Orr, Captain , 

Deputy Commissioner. 

The accompanying deposition by a Madras servant, 
and a brief memorandum I drew up on the subject, 
give allthat is circumstantially known as to the mode 
of our poor countrymen’s death, and also the probable 
locality where the murder was perpetrated, which ac¬ 
cording to the foregoing account took place on the 
16th November, 1857. 

Deposition of Lorgeress , Madrasee , a Christian , native 
of Belaree, born and bred a Camp-follower . 

Came with the force of General Havelock. Was 
with the troops under General Neil, when that officer 
was killed, endeavouring to escape with other natives, 
he rushed unwittingly, as did many others, into a 
house held by sepoys who seized him at once; he 
was plundered, and said he was a sweeper. 

First took him to Kaiser Bagh, and afterwards to 
Gisaree Mundee, near the Kaiser Bagh. When Sir 
Colin Campbell entered Lucknow, the three gen¬ 
tlemen were shot and left lying about one hundred 
yards outside a gateway of the Kaiser Bagh. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


249 


During Sir Colin’s first attack the bodies lay there, 
and after he went away this man and other prisoners 
were brought out to bury them. 

He observed three bodies tied arm to arm, not back 
to back; one body, a short man, had a Prayer-book 
in his waistcoat pocket; one body, cannot remember 
which, had jingal bullet sticking in his left side. 

All the bodies had European clothes on, but one 
body had native shoes on; stockings appeared on all, 
as the other bodies had shoes on of European make; 
a leather helmet hat lay near one body. 

The short body had no beard; others, cannot 
remember faces, perfectly black from corruption, as 
also the hands. 

The three bodies lying in a row on their backs, 
tied arm to arm, looked so black, that I first thought 
they were natives. 

A trench was near, and, according to orders, I aided 
in helping to untie their arms ; we placed them in the 
trench one over the other, and put the hat and book 
with them. 

The sepoys standing looking on when we arrived 
to bury the bodies, were joking, and saying to each 
other, " Who are these men ? they must be great 
men; governors, perhaps ; ” to which the reply, 
over and over repeated, was, ef Oh yes, this one is 


2.30 


NARRATIVE OE 


Governor of Madras, that of Bombay, and that of 
Bengal.” 

Ground been so altered since, that I cannot recog¬ 
nize the place where they were buried. 


Memo. —I went with the Madrasee, who gave the 
deposition foregoing, and starting from a gateway 
belonging to the Kaiser Bagh, which he recognized, 
we, after a long search and conversation with native 
mistrys, who had apparently seen the last fortifica¬ 
tions made, ascertained the spot where probably the 
house had stood, under the cover of which the 
Madrasee remembered crouching on his way to inter 
the bodies, and from which he hoped to trace his next 
land-mark, a kutcha wall. After clearing away 
rubbish and digging, we definitely laid bare the 
foundation of the sought-for house, which exactly 
corresponded in position, size, and description, as 
given by the Madrasee, with that of the native 
mistrys and tindals. 

Then came the extreme difficulty of tracing a mud- 
wall, along which he had gone, until he reached a 
trench in which the bodies were hastily buried. For 
a considerable time «ve traced all the directions 
of this wall, the existence of which the mistrys 



EVENTS IN OUDE. 


251 


quite recollected, but of which now no trace remained. 
At length we decided on the point it ran to, and from 
which extreme the Madrasee said the trench lay 
about thirty feet in the direction of the Chuttur 
Munzil; but here we were completely and finally 
foiled: the first day all the mistrys maintained no 
trench had existed there at all, and the second day, 
that though some fancied they recollected a trench, 
yet that it had been completely swallowed up and 
dug out in the vast ditch or canal, as the natives call 
it, dug round the Kaiser Bagh palace. In the last 
fortifications thrown up, I examined the ground very 
carefully and very disappointedly, for I had felt 
almost certain of at last finding the bones of our 
murdered countrymen; but further examination 
only convinced me more of the extreme probability 
that their rude grave had been included in the vast 
ditch, and thus no trace remained. I, however, had 
the only remaining trench of the enemy which was 
discernible thoroughly excavated, but found nothing. 

The locality of the murder within fifty yards either 
way I have determined, but for all else can only 
regret my great want of success. 

I would suggest that a plain but well proportioned 
monument be erected on the spot, which If eel sure 
is within fifty yards of their last resting-place; this 


252 


NARRATIVE OE 


monument should be enclosed by an iron railing, as 
the site is at the junction of two or three new roads. 

For inscription—as it does not appear desirable in 
so public a place to put up any words tending to per¬ 
petuate the ill-feeling between the white man and the 
black, so it cannot be that our grievous wrong should 
be entirely unnoticed—I would therefore propose 
that the names of the fallen be inscribed, with the 
date as near as can be given, and this simple re¬ 
mark— 

“ VICTIMS OF 1857.” 

It will be remembered that in the narrative of 
Captain John Hearsey, the ladies of his party, with 
Mr. Carew, got separated from him and other gen¬ 
tlemen, and that this occurred when the whole party 
was attacked by the Dhowrairah rebels, near the 
banks of the Chonka river. 

It has been ascertained that the unfortunate ladies, 
with Mr. Carew and the stepson of Sergeant-Major 
Rodgers, eventually fell into the hands of the Rajah 
of Dhowrairah, and were sent into Lucknow. 

I have ascertained the spot where they were shot 
by the rebel sepoys, and a suitable monument will 
be erected to their memory and that of others who 
perished with them at that place. 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


2o3 


The following account, by Meer Wajid Alee, 
Darogah, is the most complete statement I have been 
able to get regarding their fate. 

The exact date of their foul murder it is impos¬ 
sible to fix, but all accounts appear to point to its 
having been perpetrated a very few days after the 
late General Sir Henry Havelock, K.C.B., entered 
with General Sir James Outram, G.C.B., to relieve 
the garrison in the Residency. 

Translation of a Memorandum furnished by Meer 

Wajid Alee, Darogah of Lucknow, who saved Mrs. 

Orr and Miss Jackson. 

The following persons were sent to Lucknow by 
the Rajah of Dhowrairah, under the escort of three 
hundred men, belonging to Hurpurshad, Chuckladar 
of Khyrabad, accompanied by Fukrooddeen Khan* 
and Bundeh Hussen :— 

1. Miss Jackson. 

2. Mrs. Captain Greene. 

3. Mr. Coldayrah (?) a writer. 

4. The stepson of Sergeant-Major Rodgers.f 

5. Mr. Carew, of the Shahjehanpore Rosa Factory. 

The above-mentioned persons were brought in on 

bahuls. On their arrival they were placed under a 

f Twenty years of age. 


* Was a Government agent. 


254 


NARRATIVE OF 


guard of sepoys. At night, a court was assembled 
to debate on the subject of the prisoners. This 
court was composed of Captain Oomrao Sing, 6th 
Regiment Oude Irregular Force; Captain Rugonath 
Sing, 2nd Regiment Oude Military Police; Captain 
Imdad Hoosein, 3rd Regiment Oude Military Police; 
Darogah Wajid Alee, Munnoo Khan Shurfood 
Dowlah; and it was the wish of all the members 
that, as these prisoners were of high rank, it would 
be advisable not only to save their lives, but to treat 
them with consideration. The court then ordered 
Wajid Alee, Darogah, to send for Darogali Mirza 
Hoosein (the steward), and to instruct him to pro¬ 
vide everything for their comfort, with the exception 
of wine. Wajid Alee was also instructed to provide 
a suitable house for them. It was decided that they 
shoulrd be lodged in the house in which Nawab 
Monowu Ood Dowlah was first imprisoned, but it 
was enjoined that the Nawab should not be allowed 
to communicate with the English prisoners. But 
as there were many sepoys of the 22nd Regiment 
Native Infantry at the above-mentioned house, Meer 
Wajid Alee thought it advisable to locate them in 
the Magina Wallee Baradurree (in the Kaiser Bagh). 
Meer Hussun Alee brought food and tea, as quickly 
as possible; but, on seeing this, Captain Mukdoon Bux 


EVENTS IN OUDE. 


255 


(formerly a subadar in Captain Bunbury’s regiment, 
and always treated by that officer with particular 
kindness) placed a guard over the Europeans, and 
strictly forbad any of the durbar officials having 
communication with them. Food, however, was still 
sent to the poor prisoners. On the third day of their 
arrival at Lucknow, after an unsuccessful attack 
on the Alumbagh, Mukdoon Bux ordered the pri¬ 
soners to be brought out, and, taking them towards 
a nullah near the Tara Kothee (Observatory), on 
the road to Secunder Bagh, cruelly murdered them. 
Mrs. Greene and Miss Jackson were brutally dragged 
along to the place of execution. Twenty-two persons 
were this day murdered; amongst these five were 
Mahomedans (and of these one, Mahomed Khan, kot- 
wal of the city), the remainder were Europeans and 
Eurasians. After the foul murder the bodies were 
thrown into the river. 

The whole of the official and authentic informa¬ 
tion, now in the possession of the local Government, 
regarding the fate of those of our countrymen and 
countrywomen who perished in the mutiny in Oude, 
is here completed. 

Nothing more of an authentic character is known. 

It may be interesting to observe that but very few 
relics of European property have been recovered in 


256 NARRATIVE OF EVENTS IN OUDE. 

Oude; in some instances, property has been found 
on sepoys who were slain in action; but the great 
bulk of European property, such as furniture, horses, 
carriages, &c., has not been recovered. Most pro¬ 
bably, as the country was gradually re-conquered, 
so the holders of English property, which they had 
obtained during the mutiny, became alarmed, and 
destroyed it. 

G. Hutchinson, Captain , 

Military Secretary to the Chief Commissioner , Oude. 


THE END. 


London: Printed by Smith, Elder & Co., Little Green Arbour Court, E.C. 
















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